


Hidden Royalty

by EssieScrawls



Series: Royal Merlin (modern AU) [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Class Differences, F/M, Gen, Hospitals, Lost Love, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, M/M, Modern Royalty, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Prince Arthur, Prince Merlin, Revenge attack, Royal Merlin, Shootings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-22
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:16:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 80,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EssieScrawls/pseuds/EssieScrawls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin hates everything regal because his mum does. But when Prince Arthur of England is going to the same uni as him, he changes those thoughts quickly and even develops feelings for him. He begins to wonder why his mum holds such a grudge against royalty. </p><p>What he doesn't know is that his mum had a history with Balinor, the Mercian King, and he certainly doesn't know that he's the son of that same King</p><p> <strong>Modern Prince Merlin AU.</strong></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hidden Royalty Chapter One

There were many pictures scattered on the desk where His Majesty King Balinor Emrys of Mercia sat at. The pictures had just been delivered by Morgause, his Private Investigator, and he could only sigh deeply as he watched them all. On every pictures were the raven haired boy and the woman with long brown hair.

The woman's name is Hunith. His love - the one who had started to love all those years ago, and who was still affecting him as of this day. He missed her,  _so_ bad. King Balinor sighed deeply again as he traced the features of the woman.

And then there was the boy, Merlin... his son. Or so he believed. There couldn't be any other explanation, because the boy looked  _so_ much like him. But to be sure he would wait for the copy of Merlin's birth certificate, which Morgause promised him to get as soon as possible.

Balinor's lips lifted themselves in a smile when he picked up one picture in particular. Merlin was sitting with Hunith on a terrace of one of the many Costa's in the city, trying to catch the last bit of summer sun of the day. Both were smiling and drinking a cup of tea.

It was and still is the most beautiful woman he every laid his eyes on and he was over the top in love with her. That's why he was heartbroken to learn that she had left nearly twenty years ago. He really shouldn't have been too surprised to find out about that Hunith was gone, because his parents weren't exactly throwing confetti when he announced to his family he had fallen in love with Hunith - who was a commoner and so in his parents' eyes not suitable for their son.

But he could care less about Hunith's parentage, he loved her and wanted to marry her and start a family with her. That's why he felt crestfallen when she left without really an explanation.

His father, the late King Edward III, his late mother Queen Lenora of Mercia and their herd of advisors weren't amused the slightest to find out how Hunith captured the Prince's heart and certainly weren't amused when she came over more and more at the palace and dined with them almost every week and who was around their son almost every breathing moment. At one moment Hunith even moved into Balinor's apartment and they even started to talk about getting married, something that his family had disagreed on wholeheartedly when he voiced his thoughts about that subject to them.

His family would keep up the pretence of approving his relationship with Hunith for a shortwhile, just because they saw how happy their son had become, and in their eyes a happy heir was meaning good prospects for the Kingdom. That didn't mean that they accepted the request of approval of their son to marry her.

They kept praising Hunith whenever Balinor was around, but as soon as he was out of the room or out of earshot, they dropped their act and made nasty comments to her; telling her exactly how they wouldn't approve this spur of the moment romance. Unfortunally he was oblivious to most of that, until that one dreadful day when he found a handwritten letter from Hunith on his desk wherein she wrote that she had taken her leave from the palace and out of his life and that he should forget about her all together and focus his energy in finding an appropriate wife.

_Forget about her._  That wasn't on the top of his list, not even at the bottom of it. He had spent the last twenty years searching for her at every place in the world he could think off, but no one seemed to have heard of her or seen her ever since. It was like she had vanished from the Earth.

To great vexation of his parents and their advisers, he never married either. They tried - oh believe him, they tried. They were pushing him to marry a noblewoman from their country or from any other suitable country, so he could produce an heir and secure the line of succession.

He thought it was absolute nonsense that he couldn't choose who to love and vowed to himself that he wouldn't be getting into a marriage, arranged by his family. He wouldn't accept to be married off to some dim-witted princess or noblewoman, just because his parents wanted it, because it was time that something had to change in the perspective of the royal standards.

Even when he ascended the throne after his parents died in a car crash almost ten years ago, he refused to marry. He couldn't bring himself to be with another woman, not when he knew that the woman he gave his heart to was still around somewhere. till this day, he even keeps a locket with a picture of Hunith, and the handwritten letter she left him on the day she left securely in the drawer of the side table next to his bed.

He kept hope all those years. Hope that one day he would find her again and by finding her he would finally discover the real reason behind her sudden leave, because he would not accept it that it was just over. Particularly because he knew what Hunith felt for him and she knew what he felt for her.

And then his prayers were answered at his last royal visit to England just over a month ago.

It was the moment when he got out of the car at the entrance of the hotel where the meeting would take place, and he found himself surrounded by flashing cameras of the paparazzi and press. He had turned around to pose for some pictures, and then his eyes caught  _her_. He saw how Hunith crossed the street, carrying two large plastic bags of what he assumed were groceries and everything suddenly went in slow-motion. His breathing had quivered for a moment when he realized that she still looked the same as almost two decades ago.

He wanted to shout, run to her, get her attention at any cost, but he couldn't move when he saw the raven haired boy running towards her from the other side of the street and taking the two heavy bags from her.

He took a better look at the boy and mentally shook his head when he realized that the boy was almost the spitting image of him when he was that age.

But that couldn't be, that was impossible.

His stomach was doing somersaults after letting that thought sink in for a moment and he became conscious of the fact that the boy must be his son. The boy undoubtedly inherited the pale skin and bright eyes from his mother, but his head screamed that this boy was his son once he saw the dark hair, the high cheekbones, the lithe body… but Balinor still couldn't believe it, even when the facts were right in front of his nose. Hunith would never keep something as important as this a secret for him,  _would she?_

Balinor quickly fled inside, he needed to wrap his head around all of this.  _Could the boy really be my son? Would Hunith really keep something as big like this hidden from me?_  He had to know and made sure before he entered the building that one of his most trusted bodyguards would discretely follow the couple and report back to him their every move.

One thing was for sure. Since a really long time he felt and allowed himself to be happy again. He had finally found her!

**~oOoOo~**

In a middleclass house in the middle of London, England, the ignorant hidden Prince was being woken up by his best friend. Will.

"Come on you lazy arse. Up!"

No response.

"Merlin, I'm serious! We're gonna be late for the first day of uni." His best friend was standing there, hands on hips and even foot tapping. Merlin peeked through half open eyelids at his friend before yawning and stretching his limbs.

"Will, that you're so eager to see His Royal Arseness, doesn't mean that I am." He sleepily sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the heels of his hands and stretched yawned once again. "And besides he'll probably have a dozen of bodyguards around him, so you're probably not even going to see, let alone  _talk_  him. Now where's the fun in that?"

His best friend sat himself at the nearest and cleanest spot he could find in the dump that Merlin called his bedroom. It was a little chair and it was too low to let his long legs rest in a normal position so his knees came almost up to his nose, but he still managed to cross his arms in front of his chest and scowled deeply back at his friend.

"What is it with you and royalty, Merlin?" He said, keeping the scowl on his face when his best friend  _finally_  decided that is was time to get out of bed. Merlin sniffed at some t-shirts to find the least smelling one, before shrugging and pulling a random one over his head. "Seriously, you don't even know him and you're already holding a grudge against him."

Merlin shrugged some more. "I guess I got that from mum. You know how she's against everything that's regal, god knows why! And besides have you ever seen those interviews of His Royal Arseness on TV, or those pictures of him in magazines and don't let me get started on those custom made suits that are fitting him perfectly, pfft. I mean that prat just oozes fake pretence and you know how I hate people who act like someone who they are not."

Will's left eyebrow raised. "From all that prattling you just did, the only thing I heard is how much time you've spent checking -and I quote- His Royal  _Arse_ ness out." Will made sure he clearly emphasized the word arse, making Merlin's eyes widen just a fraction before he turned around with a pink colouring already creeping up from his neck.

Will pointed at his direction and stood up once he caught sight of the blush Merlin started to get. "You so are! I see you blushing. Come on Merlin, admit it."

Merlin turned fast, looking his friend in his eyes. "M'not! Now drop it and help me find my phone. I lost it  _again_."

"You so are though." Will muttered under his breath while searching with little effort for Merlin's mobile. Every now and then he lifted a piece of clothing off the ground with little interest to see if the missing mobile was hiding under it.

"What's that now?" Merlin asked demandingly, stopping his search for a brief moment to glare at his friend.

"Nothing." Will muttered back, avoiding eyecontact.

Merlin ruffled through a stack of papers on his desk to see if his phone was there. When the missing object wasn't there, he expanded his search area and started to look through the amazingly large pile of miscellaneous stuff that currently was scattered all over his bedroomfloor. Will had commented at least once every time he entered his room that a tornado would leave less mess behind, in comparison to the state Merlin's room was in. But Merlin wasn't bothered by the mess, to great irritation of his mum and best friend.

Merlin stood up, two fingers from one hand firmly pressed against his temple. "I could've sworn that I saw it here last night!" He exclaimed, pointing with his other hand to an unbelievable but true empty spot on his nightstand. "It couldn't have gotten legs overnight and wandered off!"

"Maybe he was tired off your voice." Will snickered, Merlin gave him a pointed look.

"Just call me with your phone Will." Merlin sighed.

Still sniggering, Will began dialling his friend's number that he knew by heart now. The unmistakable Kill Bill whistling ringtone of Merlin's phone rang throughout the room and Will as well as Merlin looked around them to find out where the sound was coming from. Narrowing his eyes, Will walked towards Merlin and the ringtone got louder.

"It's in your pocket you poof!" Will said as he whacked his friend around the head. Merlin rubbed the spot on his head where Will whacked him, looking sheepish.

"Well how should I know!" Merlin answered, still rubbing the spot.

Will just shook his head, Merlin will always be… well Merlin. He was truly one of a kind. "Now you've found your phone, can we finally go-o?"

"Fi-ine." He replied just as whiny and both make their way downstairs to the kitchen.

"Bye mum" Merlin said, standing in the doorframe of the kitchen where Hunith was reading the newspaper at the table and sipping her tea. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Have a great day… and look after Will won't you." She said with a wink.

"Hey!" Will feigned being hurt by bringing both his hands over his heart and teased. "Ms. Browne. I am perfectly capable at looking after myself. It's  _him_  you should be worried about." He finished with a jerk of his head in Merlin's direction.

Merlin quickly tugged Will's arm and dragged him to the front door, making his escape before his mother would start telling embarrassing stories from his past. However, before he completely closed the door he shouted over his shoulder, "I will mum!"

Hunith could hear the door being closed with a soft thud and suddenly the Browne residence became eerily quiet again without the energy from her eighteen -soon to become nineteen year old son- bouncing of the walls.

Telling herself that she could better take advantage of this peace and quiet while it lasted, she continued to sip her tea thoughtfully and turned the page of the newspaper she was reading. She wasn't, however, prepared for what she would see when she turned the page and the headline that greeted her was like a slap in the face.

' ** _His Royal Majesty King Balinor of Mercia, to be visiting London._** _'_  She almost let her tea cup slip out of her hands out of shock, but managed to put the cup - albeit shakingly - down on the table before she steeled herself and let her eyes dart over the page.

' ** _Because of the successful renewal of the peace treaty between His Royal Majesty King Balinor of Mercia and His Royal Majesty King Uther of the United Kingdom last month, King Balinor will be proceeding to visit England once again in nine weeks. Main activity is to be visiting a number of university facilities, including Avalon University London where His Royal Highness Crown Prince Arthur of Wales is attending…'_**

Hunith didn't - no couldn't - read further. Instead she closed her eyes and shook her head, thinking how this couldn't be happening, not after everything she did to keep Merlin away from him.

After she left the palace, she did everything to mislead Balinor so he wouldn't be able to find her, and finding out about her pregnancy. It was so important to her that Balinor wouldn't find out about the pregnancy even when she wanted to share it with him with all her heart.

When she left, the first thing she did was changing her last name, but she knew that that was just the start. She travelled from country to country for over nineteen year, never staying too long in one place and never drawing too much attention to herself. But now it would be all for nothing when Balinor would be in the exact same building as Merlin.

She looked at the picture posted at the article; it was Balinor smiling with his political smile. Hunith could always tell apart his genuine and political smile and addressed him many times on it. He would usually just laugh about it and kept telling her that every politician had at least one.

She traced the outlines of his face and couldn't fathom how little he had changed in almost twenty years. Sure he looked older and there were clearly more worries etched into his face, but other than that she still sees the same Balinor of which she fell - and secretly still was - in love with.

Closing the paper she brought both her hands up to cover her eyes. She couldn't bring it in her heart to leave once again and go to another country. She wouldn't even know where to go now, Belgium perhaps?

Hunith slammed both hands on the table and abruptly stood up, the legs of the chair scraping over the floor. No she couldn't leave. It wouldn't be fair to Merlin to get him pack up all his stuff and leave again. Merlin finally felt happy somewhere, had made friends and just started university. He'd be devastated if he was to be leaving again and Hunith wasn't sure if she could handle her son being that.

She always had in her mind to tell Merlin who his father is when he would turn twenty-one but she rather wouldn't tell him about Balinor at all.

Maybe this was a sign, maybe the time had come tell Merlin about his father, about his heritage. Maybe she really had no other choice now and she really had to tell him, but in the pit of her stomach she felt obliged then to tell Balinor too.

Hunith inhaled deeply, letting herself sink down onto the chair. She'd have to think about it and it was probably best if she'd sleep on it and make her decision whenever she felt ready.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin and Will currently sat on the low wall in front of the main entrance. The apple Merlin was holding in his hand, seemed to capture more of his attention than the Prince who just arrived at the gates. The screams of the hundreds of girls and some boys were deafening and on top of that there were also the constant annoying questions of the paparazzi, asking the Prince to 'turn this way, turn that way' and Merlin couldn't help to roll his eyes, before starting to nibble on his apple, simultaneously wishing he had brought some earplugs with him.

Will on the other hand was perched up right on his spot on the wall, stretching his spine as far as possible to make himself as tall as he could so he could catch sight of the Prince. Merlin briskly wondered to himself why Will wasn't just going to stand on the wall, but held that thought to himself. He'd be happy if that whole pack of people moved on so he could enjoy his apple in peace.

Will -still exited by the fact that there was royalty in their midst- continued to try to catch a view of the Prince, but could only see some strands of golden blonde hair in the swarming crowd of people. The pack of paparazzi and fangirls plus boys were starting to move and slowly made their way to the entrance. Excitingly, Will poked Merlin in his side. "Oh Merlin, he's coming closer."

"Fascinating," Merlin answered taking another bite of his apple, not even giving the Prince a glance when he walked pass the wall and didn't noticed that the Prince paused to look to his left to see Will and Merlin sitting on the low wall.

Will, however, did and said, "Your Highness." Will slightly tilted his head down because he didn't know how to address and act around the Prince.

Arthur gave a smile in return and directed his gaze to the figure next to light brown haired person, expecting to receive a same sort of greeting. He surely was surprised when the other person didn't even bat an eyelash towards him, seemingly to be more interested in the piece of fruit in his hand.

Will frustratingly elbowed Merlin hard in the ribs, who jolted up with a yelp.

"Will!" Merlin scolded at Will, who in his turn tried to subtly point his head to the Prince who stood behind Merlin. Merlin followed his line of sight and saw that Arthur hadn't continued to walk pass him, but stood now perhaps two feet away from him. The stupid tabloid smile plastered on his face.

Merlin scoffed, cocked his eyebrow and abruptly took another large bite of his apple before chewing it really ungraceful in the Prince's direction. Arthur not yet snorted at the sight and chuckled lightly before being sweet talked inside by the principal.

The doors had not yet closed all the way, or Will already turned towards his friends. His eyes had narrowed into a thin line. "Was that really necessary Merlin? I know you hate royalty, but did you  _had_  to be that obvious about it?"

Merlin looked unimpressed back at his best friend with one eyebrow cocked. "What would you expect me to do? Should I bow like some idiot, say  _Your Highness_  to him, or wait even better, maybe I should kiss the ground he has walked on?" He rolled his eyes and aimed the core of his apple towards the bin a couple of feet in front of him.  _Miss._  Grumbling he got up and picked the core up and dumped it in the bin.

"Well you don't have to be an arse about it for one. Seriously, why do you hate him so much? Is it because he's gay? No that can't be it, because so are you." Will gripped both handles of his synthetic duffle bag in one hand and hoisted the whole thing up from the ground and flipped it behind his back in one swift motion. His arm bent at his elbow and his wrist resting on his shoulder while holding the two handles tightly in his hand. "Merlin, give me one valid reason to dislike him."

"First of all, Arthur is bisexual which is probably the only redeeming quality in him. Second I don't know, okay. Just this whole 'we're royals so we can do anything we want and you have to bow to us like we're some kind of god' act gets on my nerves. They are just normal people like us. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm sure he just has normal red blood like us and nothing like that proverbial blue blood."

Will wiggled his finger teasingly in front of Merlin's face. "Ahh, you called him Arthur, and not His Royal Arseness. Maybe there's hope in changing you after all."

"Oh shut up." He gently elbowed Will's arm and looked at his watch to see that the lessons were almost starting. Glancing around the school grounds, he saw the other students getting up from the grass or benches and walking in all kinds of directions. Merlin got up with a deep inhale of air and already put the short encounter with the Prince next to him and now looked forward for his first and favourite class of the year. Chemistry.

Entering the class, Merlin's mood was great. He loves Chemistry and especially now he had Professor Geoffrey Monmouth -probably the most renowned chemist in England- as his professor. Just the smell of the chemicals that infiltrate his nostrils the minute he walked into the classroom got his senses tingling with excitement and couldn't wait to actual start using them in projects.

His classmates started to slowly pour into the class one by one and Will and Merlin had already limited choice in where they could sit. Eventually they took a seat at one of the workbenches in the front which could hold up to four people. There was already a guy sitting there; he was quite tall and muscular and made Merlin gulp deeply at just seeing the person, but Will decided that he would still take a seat next to him and Merlin didn't want to sit on his own so had no other choice  _then_  to sit down at that same bench too. He was just glad that Will had taken the seat directly next to the bulky guy.

Both Will and Merlin got their laptops and books out of their bags, placing them softly down on the workbench and checking their battery's energy level. Merlin sighed as he saw his little adapter icon already blinking vigorously with the warning of a too low battery level, and Merlin ruffled some more in his bag to find the adapter. Will, in the meantime, had put out his hand to the big guy that was staring blankly in front of him.

"Hi, I'm Will."

The large guy jumped just slightly when he was suddenly addressed and coughed awkwardly to cover his embarrassingly action up. Gripping the hand a smile started to spread across his face "I'm Percival but you can call me Percy. Or Perce if you must but I don't really like that, it sounds too much like a woman's handbag."

Will started to chuckle. "Avoid Perce at all times, got it. Oh this is Merlin by the way." Will turned on his chair and Merlin awkwardly smiled to the bigger guy.

"Hi." Merlin softly said, holding out his hand as well and plugging in the found adapter in one of the available sockets with his other hand. After the exchange of names and spending a minute of ten just talking to Percival, Merlin found out that they shared similar interests and got more at ease around the big but friendly guy. He was wrong about his fist impression and it turned out that Percival wasn't as intimidating as he first thought he would be, in contrary; he's actually pretty funny and really nice.

"You know Percy I've got to say." Merlin began, staring at the bench as he talked. "I was a bit intimidated by you, I mean you're twice if not thrice the size of me. But I totally take that train of thought back and have to admit that you seemed to be a pretty great guy."

A laugh erupted from Percival. "I hear that a lot, but don't let my muscles fool you, I promise I am as meek a lamb. Just good genes I guess."

"Good genes indeed." Will said, having to keep himself in track to avoid his hands squeezing Percy's biceps. "At least I have some good genes from my father's side. You should see my moth-" but before Will could finish his sentence the door opened, and the principal strode in with a confident looking Prince Arthur right behind him. Murmurings immediately started to spread through the classroom, while Merlin's great mood started to sinks somewhere towards the ground.

_Did_ _ **he**_ _really have to follow the same class as me?_  Merlin thought and let his head hang for a second until he heard the principal speaking.

The principal held his hands up, and the murmuring in the class slowly starts to cease. When it was completely silent the principal let his hands down and begins his speech. "Class I promise I won't stay long. But I just want to make one thing clear. His Highness Prince Arthur has requested that you will treat him like any other student and to make that easier for you all, he has stated that you can just call him Arthur."

"How  _princely_  of him." Merlin cheekily whispered in Will's ear, earning a side-glances with narrowed eyes from his best friend.

"Just be quiet." Will whispered back.

"… Now I'm sure I kept you'll long enough and Professor Monmouth is eager to start his class." He nodded towards Geoffrey and bowed briefly to the Prince before leaving the classroom. Whispering started to spread through the classroom again once the door had closed.

Arthur stood in front of the class, looking overly confident to Merlin's distaste but he had to admit to himself, that for the princely arse he is, Arthur is surely looking  _divine_. Merlin couldn't stop himself and let his eyes roam over the Prince's body; taking in the casual dark blue jeans that was finished off with a torso hugging red polo with his golden blonde hairs in perfect contrast with the red collar that has been neatly turned down.

His gaze was luckily interrupted by the professor's announcement or otherwise he would caught sight of those piercing blue eyes that were currently busy scanning the classroom and he would probably be doomed by the intensity of them.

"If you could just take a seat Arthur." Professor Monmouth's voice drummed right through Merlin's skull, getting him out his train of thought just in time before his mind would take a road of his own.

Arthur looked around the class and saw that all the places have been taken, except for the two spots. One available spot was at a workbench with three girls that now sported excited and maybe even slight creepy expressions on their faces so he'd rather avoid them at all cost.

But the only other available spot was right next to the guy with dark hair that he had seen outside on the wall in front of the entrance. Arthur had a feeling that the guy wasn't all too happy to see him, whatever the reason may be, but he'd rather sit next to him than to the girls who would more likely swoon over him than actually paying attention in class, and he wasn't in the mood for that in the slightest.

Taking his chances he started walking towards the seat next to the dark haired guy and eased himself onto the last vacant stool, earning an eye roll from the said person. The raven haired immediately placed his arm on top of the bench with his hand propped under his chin, clearly sulking. Arthur could not help but just gawk at the person, normally everyone was overloading him with fake compliments, just so he got to notice them, but not with this guy. It was quite elaborating and Arthur couldn't help that the smallest of smiles graced his lips.

The two other people at the bench were a bit more hospitable and Arthur saw the brown haired guy sending a scowled look to the dark haired guy before holding his hand out to him and introduced himself as Will. The bulky guy on the other end of the bench nervously followed and stammers out that Percival was his name before pulling his arm back.

Will kicked hard but curt against Merlin's leg underneath the table and looked at him with an almost murderous look. Merlin could refrain the already familiar to him eye roll and put on a fake smile prior introducing himself to the amused looking Prince.

"I'm Merlin."

Arthur gave him a nod in understanding. "I'm Arthur." He replied with what Merlin only can describe as that stupid tabloid smile and could refrain himself from doing the face-palm for Arthur's obvious answer, so he just simpered towards the Prince.

"So class." Professor Monmouth rubbed his hands together in an almost menacing way. "I took the liberty of dividing you into pairs for the assignments you'll have to complete this year. Swapping is  _not_  allowed."

Merlin immediately heard some girls on his left and at the back of the class whispering that they hope that they're paired up with Arthur, but he didn't care about whom gets paired up with the prat. As long as it's not with him.

Tapping his pen softly but repeatedly against the page of his notebook, he absent-mindedly listened to the list of names professor Monmouth droned. He heard that Will was paired up with Percy and he felt slightly annoyed by that, since he hoped Will would be  _his_  lab partner, but that annoyance wasn't even close to what he felt when he heard the person's name that was teamed up with his. It made him instantly drop his pen flat on the paper.

"Merlin Browne, you're paired up with Arthur Pendragon."


	2. Hidden Royalty Chapter Two

While all his other classmates excitedly started to fan out to find their assigned lab partner, Merlin just thumped his head repeatedly against the worktop of the bench, making Will burst out in loud laughter, but was making Arthur and Percival look at each other with a confused look and both holding their shoulders up at not knowing how to deal with Merlin's reaction, nor Will's.

"Is… something wrong?" Arthur asked, unsure.

Merlin raised his head. "Well the fact that  _you_  are my lab partner isn't exactly making my day. But seeing that I'm stuck with you, I have a few things to say." Merlin held his index finger close to Arthur's face. Arthur looked down but his eyes crossed at how close the digit was to his face so he drew his head back a bit to get his vision straightened out. Merlin in the meantime merrily continued.

"One, I'm not your little servant who will serve you at your every beck and call, so I expect you to  _actually_  do something in this class as well and not let me do all the work." Arthur opened his mouth to protest but closed it as a second finger is added, effectively cutting him off.

"Two, Chemistry is my favourite subject and also very important for my oncoming career, so if you'll be a prat about it and think this all is just a joke for you, then please be my guest and leave now, okay?" Finally he added a third finger. "To highlight my second point, I just tell you now that  _if_  you screw up, there  _will_  be consequences. Are we clear?"

Arthur took a good look at Merlin, his amused expression only growing as the points of clearance were named. Arthur almost had to bite his lip to not laugh at Merlin after concluding to himself that Merlin  _must_  be joking. But taking a good look at the dark-haired guy's face in front of him made him realise the seriousness written on it and Arthur was quick to adjust that thought and cleared his throat.

It's quite adorable really. No one ever talked to him like that. People usually walk on eggshells around him, saying the things they  _think_  he wants to hear and never speaking their own mind. Merlin on the other hand is doing exactly that and that is quite…liberating. He likes it. In fact he likes it very much.

"Nothing more, just those three?" Arthur replied hopefully sounding serious as he's suppressing the mock tone as best as he can.

"Oh well one more thing." Merlin ruffled in his bag and pulled out a small notepad and scribbled some sentences on it before pushing it in front of Arthur. He held out his pen. "Sign this."

"Why?" Arthur drawled out almost whiningly, one eyebrow rising.

Merlin still held his pen out impatiently, with Arthur still refusing to grab it. "Just something to ease my own mind. I won't let some Prince take the pleasure of ruining my favourite and most important subject."

Arthur glanced at the paper lying in front of him and reads what is written on it. Percy and Will curiously crane their neck to see what exactly Merlin has written.

' _I, Arthur Pendragon, hereby comply with all the aforementioned conditions that the opposite party, Merlin Browne, has drawn up. If I break or fail to follow one or more rules, I will agree to whatever activity of choice the other party decides is fair.'_

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

_Arthur Pendragon_

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

_Merlin Browne_

Arthur just couldn't help chuckling at Merlin's choice of words, and the apparent punishment for breaking the rules. It sounds so… funny. Arthur likes the humour this guy has and while Merlin might look reluctant and aloof to him now, he will fall for the Pendragon charm soon enough.

So yes, maybe university won't be so bad after all and maybe he can make some friends who, for once, aren't nice to him  _just_  because of his title.

"Well?" Merlin asked in a serious tone, the pen vehemently wiggling between his thumb and forefinger. "Are you gonna sign or not. And I used fancy pancy words, so even  _you_  can understand what it says."

"Well how very thoughtful of you  _Mer_ lin." Arthur said with the smallest sarcasm. "Of course I will  _comply_ , as you put it, with your conditions." He grabbed the pen out of Merlin's waiting hand, clicking it in a very exaggerated way and brought it down on the lined paper to sign the so-called contract with his signature. Swirly lines scratched onto the paper and Arthur finished with a dramatic point push on the paper, before sliding the paper -together with the pen- back to the waiting Merlin.

"Happy sir?" He mocked.

Merlin glanced down to study the signature and tilted his head to the side with an accompanied shrug of one shoulder. "You've just got to remember that I have witnesses Pendragon." He pointed to the two grinning idiots next to him before bending down himself to sign the paper and folding it neatly in half after he had finished signing it. Merlin put the paper safely between the hardcover and first page of his Chemistry book so he cannot lose it.

Before either Merlin, or Arthur could say anything else, professor Monmouth already drew the class' attention to himself by clearing his throat twice. "Okay class, it seems everyone found their partners. Now let's get really started with the subject you all came for. Open your books at page ten and start up your laptops. We will dive right in."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin tried really hard to concentrate, he did, but for some reason he just  _couldn't_.

Well that  _some_   _reason_  is Arthur, the prat is just out to get on his nerves, he's sure of it. In the last ninety minutes Arthur's been messing with his head, which is the only explanation to this sudden feeling of his mind being disorientated. Merlin does  _not_ like royals, Merlin  _loathes_  them. Royals think they're pretentious human beings and too high for any normal commoner.

 _They are, aren't they?_  At least that's how his mother raised him.

 _So why is Arthur being so nice and helpful?_  It makes  _no_  sense to him at all. It only made his head pounds with an evil throb which he decides to call 'Arthur'. As a last resort to get the throbbing down, Merlin started to massage both his temples in slow circular motions with two fingers of each hand.

Professor Monmouth's lecture droned softly through his eardrums but the professor's words just don't seem to make coherent sentences in his brain and Merlin was lost. This was certainly not how he wanted to start his new academic year.

Unwillingly, the Arthur subject flittered back into his mind. It's that entire prat next to him his fault. The prat suddenly proffered his better working (of course) and probably brand new laptop to Merlin. Arthur had probably noticed how Merlin's four year old laptop suddenly froze about fifteen minutes into the class and no matter what Merlin did, it opposed to start working again. Merlin sadly had to admit that his beloved laptop was at the end of its tether, but unfortunally he had not yet enough money to buy a new one.

Not that that was the only thing; after sliding his laptop towards Merlin, Arthur,  _Prince Arthur_ , was fumbling inside his expensive looking sleek black leather shoulder bag and pulled out an ordinary paper notebook and a pen a moment later. Then he started to scribble the notes from professor's Monmouth lecture down.

Merlin couldn't believe it, he would have never guessed that he'd ever witness the day that a pretentious royal would give up their electronic device to someone who had not exactly been heart-warming towards him,  _just_  to start taking  _handwritten_ notes after given said device away. Merlin's sure that Arthur's wrist must be cramping like a total bitch at this point and the class doesn't finish for another twelve minutes, but even if it is than Arthur isn't showing it.

Merlin's guilt did starts playing up though and he started to shuffle a bit closer towards Arthur, nudging Arthur's left arm with his elbow. Arthur looked up, almost surprised, but schooled his features. "Yes?" Arthur whispered.

Merlin looked down to the workbench but slowly moved his gaze up. "I... I just want to say thanks, for lending me your laptop I mean. You didn't have to do it you know, but yeah thanks." Merlin straightened his back and went back to staring at the white board, trying to make sense of any of the professor's messy handwriting. He jolted up at feeling a warm breath encircling his ear.

"You're welcome." Arthur whispered back.

**~oOoOo~**

"Okay class, that's it for the day. Everyone pick up a sheet with the planning for the required assignments for this year on your way out." Professor Monmouth pulled the just addressed papers out of his case and placed it down at the corner of his larger workbench so the pupils had easy access to it on their way out, then he snapped his suitcase close and gave a small nod to the Prince as he walked out the room.

Multiple stools scraped across the floor and lowered voices started to fill the classroom as everyone quietly shuffled past the bench the Prince is sitting at.

Arthur knows that the whisperings are about him, and it annoyed the crap out of him that people were not afraid to talk  _about_ him, but seemed to be very afraid to actually talk  _directly to_  him. He knew that this would be happening ever since his father announced that he would be joining an university to get a degree.

_Can't people see that I'm a normal person just like anyone else?_

Apparently not, since the vast majority of people seemed to think otherwis _e_ – but that aside, he is still a person that also craves for  _normal_  human contact. He just wanted some people who would talk to him without all those formalities and titles (which he secretly hated with a passion). Arthur sighed inwardly, people just don't seem to get it that it's perfectly normal to talk to him. Hopefully he has more luck with other people in the next classes.

He dared to sneak a glance over his shoulder and saw Percival, Will and Merlin still packing up their stuff into their bags and laughing about something that's probably only understandable between the three of them. How he wishes to be part of that kind of clique, but that's wishful thinking from his part.

He shook his head lightly and scooted his own stool back, bent down to grab his black leather bag at the one strap and hauled it off from the dusty floor. Merlin had already given him back his laptop about five minutes before the end of the class and had muttered a small 'thanks' once more. However, he did not give any indication that he was asking him to join him and his friend into the cafeteria for the little break that was now in progress.

The class was almost completely empty apart from a handful of students and Arthur decided it was time to go and go sit pathetically alone in a cafeteria where everyone can have a laugh at him. Or at least where they can text their friends and maybe even newspapers about it.

Sometimes he really did hate his life.

"Uhm… Arthur?" A voice called when he was already gripping the doorknob.

Arthur turned around and found himself face to face with the last person he'd been expecting to be actually addressing him.

Merlin.

Sure Merlin had addressed him during the class when he thanked him for letting him use his laptop, but otherwise Merlin had been completely ignoring him and looked at him with almost disgust. He's not sure what he had done to deserve that kind of treatment from Merlin though.

His hand lingered a moment longer on the doorknob before he let go of it and turned around completely, only stepping aside as the few strayed classmates were trying to get passed him without actually looking him in the eye or asking him to step aside. The two girls blushed from the tips of their ears to the apples of their cheeks and smiled shyly towards him. After they left, Arthur found himself alone in the room with just Merlin, Will and Percival. He could see Will looking at the two of them with a questionably raised eyebrow.

"Yes?" Arthur said. His princely stance betrayed by the small waver in his voice. The hope he has that he will be asked by Merlin to go and sit with them during the break slightly grows, but he didn't want to push his luck and ask directly, so he waits. He's already glad that Merlin called him 'Arthur' and nothing awkwardly formal.

Merlin thrust a sheet of paper in Arthur's left hand and it takes Arthur just a split second to recognizes the dates and words and connect both things together; the planning.

"You forgot to take this." Merlin said softly.

"Oh. Right. Thanks Merlin." Arthur tried to put the paper with one hand in his bag, but at that exact moment it's hanging in an awkward angle on his shoulder and he can't quite reach the main compartment. He just settled on shoving the paper in one of the zipped compartments on the side.

He couldn't help it that the right-hand corner of his lips quipped up, but it faltered when he looked back up and Merlin still hadn't given him any implication of saying something else.

"Right. I'll just go then." Arthur announced, then turned and opened the door. When he was just a few steps outside the classroom he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. The quick look downwards told him that the hand that gripped his shoulder had long slender fingers and Arthur stopped in his track.

Merlin moved in his line of sight, two other pair of footsteps quickly following. "Are you… maybe you want to sit with us?" Merlin glared angrily towards Will when he spontaneously started to choke on his saliva, Percival desperately trying to help him by smacking one of his big hands on his back. "I mean you don't have to of course. I'm sure you'll have other people to sit with."

"No! … I mean no, it's fine." Arthur could just smack himself over the head at hearing himself with how much desperation he said the word 'no' and the rest of the sentence. Especially since this shy, awkward stance he's sporting right now is not his usual persona. Normally -well in public situations like this - he's a confident Prince that does not fear anything or anyone.

But really, who is he kidding. He is  _exactly_  that shy awkward person.

Will shuffled forward after his recovered choking, until he practically stood beside his best friend. His cocked eyebrow still high in its place.

"What?" Merlin replied with a surprised tone after seeing his friend's expression. "I  _can_  be nice. See?" Merlin held his hands up in front of Arthur.

Will nodded with an amused tight-lipped smile. "Well I know  _that_ , but apparently you can also do it to  _royalty_."

Arthur was lost, but he hoped it didn't show on his face, or well hopefully not  _too_  much. He wonders if Merlin is one of those people who don't like royals just for the sole reason that they are royals. Perhaps that's why he was (and perhaps in a small degree still is) acting so coldheartedly towards him. Well he could've guessed that Merlin was one of those people just by thinking back to his first encounter with the guy.

Before he could let his mind on the loose about that, Merlin's words snap him out of his train of thought.

"Well, I might… _or might not_ … be wrong. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now."

Arthur really hated it when people did the thing where they would talk about him like he was not there, even when he was standing directly in their presence.

"Whatever you say mate." Will finished with a nudge of his fist on Merlin's bony shoulder. "So, Arthur, you coming then?"

Arthur gripped the strap of his shoulder bag tighter. "Yes."

**~oOoOo~**

As Arthur had expected, the minute he and his three associates made their way into the cafeteria the whole cafeteria fell silent for a split second before the low murmurings were starting to wash over them. It, however, didn't stop Arthur from entering the room. He held his head up high with certain poise and started to steer the trio standing next to him towards an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria. The murmuring slowly started to increase again as they sat down. Most people went back to their own thing and conversation after catching a glimpse of the Prince but just a few others kept watching him so intensively, but Arthur was used to that anyways.

Merlin sat down next to Will while Percival and Arthur took the seats opposite from them.

"So." Will began, grabbing a bag of Ready Salted Walkers crisps from his bag. "Where are your bodyguards? I expected you to be swarmed with them." The sealed air released itself the moment Will pulled on both sides of the package to open it.

Merlin rolled his eyes, getting a bottle of water and another apple from his bag. "You just did not ask that." He muttered but Will shrugged, immediately drawing his eyes back to Arthur who found it all amusing.

"Oh they're here. Somewhere. Made a deal with my father that they wouldn't be following me directly, but they're never that far away."

"Hmm, interesting." Will nodded, reaching into the package and pulled out three big pieces of crisps and stuffed his mouth full with it. Crumbs falling down onto his lap from the corner of his mouth.

Merlin turned the cap from the water bottle and took a bite of his apple, immediately washing it down with a swig of water. His eyes kept darting towards Arthur every once in a while.

He still felt confused on what to think about Arthur, sure he has that kind of air around him that says 'move peasants', but at the same time he looked like a small kitten trying to walk for the first time. Yes it was really confusing to him and now he started to think back about when and why he actually got those hatred feelings against anything that was regal and the only thing he could think of was because his mother said so.

From a young age his mother always told him that royals were the worst of all kind of people and they couldn't be trusted. They corrupt and threat and they are not being to rely on at all. Maybe he should scrutinize why his mother is so against it, because it just doesn't make sense to him. His mother is the most kind-hearted person he has ever met, but whenever someone brings up a subject involving something regal she gets really winded up.

Merlin shrugged it off for now, and started to listen to whatever conversation the three of them are in so he wouldn't look like a total uninterested fool.

It wasn't and shouldn't be a total surprise to him that the subject of conversation was about school and Merlin learnt that Arthur's major is English, because according to him History is so 'stuffy' and 'tedious' at times. Percival is also majoring in English, while Will's major is Psychology and his own is of course Chemistry.

The reason why they all winded up with taking Chemistry too, was in Will's case because he needed an extra curriculum and picked Chemistry just for the reason that he was quite good at it on his previous school and of course that way he could spend more time with Merlin. Arthur and Percival's reasoning for taking it, was pretty much the same as Will's… minus the Merlin factor.

"Okay, please,  _please_ , enough school stuff for now." Will whined. "It's the first day, there are many to come. So Arthur, Percy, we don't really know you two yet and you don't know us yet. How about some Q-and-A?"

"Fine by me -oh one sec." Arthur's phone started to ring midsentence and Merlin as well as Will looked dumbfounded at each other when they both instantly recognized Arthur's ringtone as it was the exact same as Merlin's. Arthur was too busy with his phone that he missed their complexions, but they still sported it when he looked up almost immediately after punching the decline button on his expensive phone.

"Errr… everything alright?" He asked a bit unsure. Both Merlin and Will's face straightened out with Merlin nodding to the phone.

"Kill Bill?" Is everything he said and Arthur furrowed his brow, about to question what Merlin meant with that before realizing that Merlin probably meant the ringtone.

"Oh, ah, no. Well yes, it is also from that, but I got it from the show  _American Horror Story_.

Three pair of eyebrows rose the second Arthur finished his sentence. They all gaped at him like a goldfish, before they got control over their senses back and like they choreographed it, all three of them asked the exact same question at the exact same time. " _You_  watch that show?" Their eyes widening for an extra enhancement of them being shocked.

Arthur couldn't believe that the three guys around his table were thinking he didn't watch any television shows. It was hardly unavoidable these days, with so many promotions being made around television shows. Plus he got so many questions getting asked by press that had a general teenage public about which shows he  _was_  watching that he ultimately started to watch some TV shows. "Err, yes. Don't you?"

The trio nodded in sync, but Will was the one who opened his mouth first. "It's a kind of sick show, but you can't help watching it. It's like a car crash!"

The exclaim might be a bit exaggerated, but accurate nonetheless. Arthur agrees, especially after starting the third season. He gets an idea, but unfortunally couldn't voice that idea just yet before running it by his parents.

Merlin glanced towards the big clock at the wall and sighs. "Break's almost over." He announced, already collecting the waste that was scattered over the table and pushing it into a neat pile. "We all have the same class next right?"

Percival confirmed with a firm nod of his head as he was still very much busy processing the food that had currently taken residence inside his mouth. Arthur and will just replied back with a simple 'yes'.

Arthur couldn't wipe off the big smile that was covering his features right now and stood up. The strap of his bag firmly stuck around his shoulder again. "Shall we go then?"

**~oOoOo~**

After the last class of the day had finished, Arthur had said goodbye to the three friends he had made today with the biggest of smiles. Even after Percival, the last of the three, left he was still unable to wipe it off his face. He was just feeling so…  _happy_. Happy that he made friends on the very first day that actually treat him like a normal person and not putting him on a pedestal because of his birth. The four of them had exchanged numbers in the second break, the lunch break, and Arthur secretly hopes that one of his three new friends will text him later today.

Leon arrived at his side and exchanged some words through the mic hidden inside his collar to see if the rest of the guards were ready. "Are you ready Arthur? There are paparazzi lined up, but we will make sure that you will have a smooth walk towards the car."

Arthur gave a nod. He never liked the press and the paparazzi even less, but thankfully his father has been able to make a deal with them; on his first day of uni, they're only allowed take pictures of him and no interviews and have to leave him alone for the rest of his academic career so 'the Prince' can fully focus on his studies.

As soon as Leon pushed the door open, the swarm of paparazzi vermin guarded with their evil video and photo cameras came rushing towards him with invading questions about how his first day went, whether he's having a love interest yet, and what his thoughts were about the school. Arthur almost got blinded due the numerous flashings of the photo cameras and bright lights of the video cameras that were shoved into his face.

Arthur had put on the fake smile he's been sporting in front of the camera since the age of four and nodded politely towards the press and the other people that had gathered around, but didn't comment on any question that has been yelled so loudly towards him. Leon pushed most people out of the way with help of two other bodyguards, and Arthur could indeed make a swift walk towards the black SUV with tinted glass windows, that waited just outside the school gates.

Sitting in the back of the car, Arthur heaved a deep sigh. Well at least he had done that without too much trouble, but there was just one question that kept lingering in the back of his mind. ' _Your highness,_ _do you have a love interest?'_  and there was just one image popping up in his head. Merlin.

Arthur shook his head, trying to get rid of the image. _No. no! I can't love him, I barely know him! Okay fine there is interest, but no. Those blue eyes and bright smile, completed with those lovely looking ears that would be thought of too big on anyone else but they just **fitted** with Merlin aren't affecting me in any way._

_Ugh, who am I kidding?_

_I'm fucked._

_Big time._

**~oOoOo~**

"Well this first day was a breeze, don't ya think Merlin?" Will said as they finally managed to walk through the school gates, after pushing through the crowd that was waiting for the moment Arthur would make his appearance.

Will's mood was still as happy as it was this morning and Merlin is quite sure that making friends with the Prince had something to do with that, although Will was seemingly less focussed anymore on the fact that he's royalty and more on the fact that Arthur was a genuine great guy.

Merlin groaned softly. Why oh why did Arthur had to be so nice, his whole head still pounded with the throbbing headache behind his eyes. If he could, Merlin would just fall into a senseless heap there and then, but making a scene in the middle of the street wasn't exactly high on his list, so he kept on moving. And when a sudden wave of a hand flapped in front of his face, he snapped completely out of it.

"Hello-o, earth to Merlin. A yeah, he's back again." Will sniffled at the pointed look Merlin directed to him. Will just jovially prattled on about the school day which made Merlin zone out a bit again, until his name was being said. "-and Merlin, I must say. For one royalty hating bastard you are, you certainly warmed up quickly to our princeling. I wonder why..."

After some stammering, Merlin managed to avert the subject tactfully when he started talking about this one video game that had just came out. He knew it worked when Will enthusiastically started telling him about it and how many times he already saw the commercial for it and…

Merlin stopped listening, just nodded every now and then. He was more occupied with thinking about Arthur and how he was the complete opposite of what he thought Arthur would be. He really should be easing up to Arthur and not giving him a hard time just because he's royalty. Before Merlin realised it he was already standing in front of his house.

"Well see you tomorrow then." Merlin quickly commented, holding the little gate of the fence of his front lawn open. "I'll text you tonight or something."

His escape was swift and quick and with a soft thud he closed the front door of the house. A small pinch of guilt entered his mind, but was quickly replaced by smelling the scent of herbal tea coming from the kitchen. And just like that he has found himself sitting at his usual place at the table.

His mother was nervously flitting around the kitchen with mugs and spoons and ultimately planting a hot steaming cup with a shaking hand in front of him and one for herself on the left of Merlin. Merlin cocked an eyebrow at his mother's nervous acting, but didn't voiced his thoughts, instead he took a long sip of the warm comforting tea that he certainly needed after a long day of battling thoughts in his mind.

Still nervously, Hunith took her seat at the head of the table, Merlin sitting on her right. She was making herself more and more nervous when she looked down at her hands that she kept clasping and unclasping. Eventually she settled on folding them together and letting them rest on the table top. She intensely watched her son from the side and his profile was the exact same as Balinor's, which set off a fierce discussion is in her head; to tell or not to tell merlin about his father  _and_ by doing that also letting him find out about his lineage.

Her decision was cut short by Merlin addressing her.

"Mum! Can you  _please_  stop staring, it's making me nervous. Did I do something wrong?"

Hunith shook her head and smiled at her son. "It's… nothing. But tell me, how was your first day?" Her hands unfolded from each other to cradle her own mug. She brought it up to her lips, softly blowing into it to cool the liquid down a little more.

Merlin shifted nervously in his seat, he wasn't sure whether or not tell his mother about the fact that he kind of, sort of became friends with Arthur, he's quite positive that his mother would get a fit for sure. But then again, he never in his life lied to her, and even if he wanted too it was hopeless because one way or another she always saw through each and every one of them.

"Well, before you get all mad and hysterical or whatever reaction you might get. Just know that I'm still fine."

His mother's eyebrows knitted so tightly together that they became one.

"The thing is… I spent a really good amount of time with Arthur today… the Crown Prince."

It took a few seconds for her to get the sentence processed in her mind, but when it did it hit her with full force. Her mug suddenly found itself abandoned from her hands and on the table and she abruptly stood up, her hands flailing in the air. "You what!"

"Mum…" Merlin said calmly trying to soothe her down, but it was in vain.

"Merlin, you may never talk to  _him_  again. You hear me young man."

A frustrating huff left his mouth as he stood up too and mimicked his mother's movements with an equally deep scowl plastered on his face.

"Mum! I like the guy as a friend. Yes you heard me; I like someone from royal blood. But so what if he is!" Merlin took a deep breath and lowered his arm, slowly releasing all the air from within his lungs. He took a deep breath again and continued on a softer note.

"You've always told me how bad royals are, how they are corrupt and evil and all those other words with practically the same meaning, but I spent the day with Arthur, well almost a whole day and yeah sure he has some kind of cockiness around him, but I think it's all an act. I got to see a glimpse of the real Arthur… at least I think it was the real one… No mum, please, don't walk away."

Hunith had walked over to the backdoor that overlooked the small garden, her memories came slamming back to her and she remembered how Balinor was with her in the privacy of his room and how he was in official gatherings. It was exactly how her son had just described the Prince and reality struck her hard and wetness started to make her eyes glisten just by recalling the past.

A soft hand on her arm brought her back to the here and now, her eyes falling on her son who now stood next to her. His face full of concern and ready to say more, but even before he had the chance to open his mouth, Hunith spoke with a soft voice. "I don't want you to spend any more time with him, Merlin. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Who says I get hurt? What have royals done to you for you to hate them with every fibre in your body? Please mum, tell me 'cause I sure as hell don't understand."

Slowly, Hunith turned to her son and placed a tender hand against his cheek. She hoped the small smile she gave him would be enough to let him trust her, but his eyes told another story. He was still wary of her odd behaviour and misleading answers. She took in a deep breath through her nose. "All in good time, hunnie. I will tell you everything, just  _not. now_."

Merlin jerked his head away to get rid of the hand residing there. "No mum,  _now_  is the perfect time. What are you hiding from me!"

"Merlin, please. Later." Her hand started to move up again to place it on the exact same spot, but Merlin was having none of it. Instead he walked backwards, shaking his head. His whisper was soft, but Hunith could still hear it all.

"I can't believe you don't trust me."

Before Hunith could blink, Merlin had fully turned around and had walked in a fast pace to the hallway. Hunith knew her son would storm out of the house if she isn't in time to stop him. She stumbled forward, pushing aside chairs in an attempt to reach her son faster. But it was too late; the front door already slammed close and all she could do was to stand in the middle of the hallway with her head buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking with the tears she let fall freely now.

**~oOoOo~**

A lone light on the far corner in the kitchen gave the room enough illumination to cover it in a yellow glow, but it wasn't nearly enough to lit the whole kitchen thoroughly.

On her place around the table, Hunith watched the clock on the wall and started worrying again. It had been after midnight and she still hadn't succeeded in getting in contact with her son after he left the house hours ago. Her mind had started to make up things that could've happen to her son and she willed them to stop, but as a mother she just couldn't stop worrying.

The mug with tea -what must have been her fifteenth batch of tea– had gone cold and she finally made effort in standing up from her chair to make herself a new one. As she started to fill the kettle with water, she heard the soft click from the front door and immediately turned the tap off and looked over her shoulder. Soft footsteps that she immediately recognized as them being of her son made way towards the kitchen and she gingerly put the kettle in the sink. When she turned around she saw her son appear at the threshold of the kitchen, his expression full of regret and shame. "Merlin…" She breathed out, her worries disappeared instantly and her feet moved on their own towards her son and when she reached him, she dragged him into a fierce hug.

"I called Will and I tried your phone several times and when you didn't answer, I became so worried and I thought-" She was cut off midsentence by Merlin peeling off her arms that were wrapped around his shoulders and he lowered them with his own hands. Merlin took a step back, eyes darting to the floor.

"I… I'm sorry." He raised his head and Hunith saw those bright blue orbs staring back to her. "I'm sorry about everything, about the way I acted, about what I said. Just everything. But I can see that  _something_ is worrying you mum, something that has to do with royals. I don't know what or why, but mum please, you can tell me everything. You know you can, please don't hold anything secret for me. I want you to be happy mum and holding this  _something_  secret for me isn't making you that. I won't force you to tell me, but please,  _please_ , don't wait too long to tell me. I really don't like you being sad."

His eyes moved down in a way that made Hunith heart clench, but she couldn't tell her son the truth. Not now, not yet. It was just… too much of a reality that she could not face yet. Slowly she moved forward to press a kiss on her son's temple and to brush the few hairs of his fringe out of the way that always made him chuckle by how childish it was. Even now -in the seriousness of the situation- he couldn't help to let out a soft chuckle.

"Time is all I ask of you Merlin. I will tell you everything when the time is right, please don't worry too much about it." After a tentative nod from her son in agreement she held out her hand. "Come now, time for bed. It's been a long day."


	3. Hidden Royalty Chapter Three

King Balinor sat at his grand mahogany desk and stared at the picture of Merlin and Hunith sitting on the terrace of the local coffee shop. He had framed it the second after he found a perfect photo frame for it and placed it at the corner of his desk so he could watch it whenever he found himself in his official office which was quite often lately. The office itself was expensively decorated and felt grandeur and magnificent; suitable for any diplomatic visit or any other kind of visit for that matter.

His attention faltered a second when there was a knock on the big double teak doors, which opened shortly after he bid the person a subconscious permission to enter. Lancelot appeared in the door opening and Balinor struggled to tear his gaze from the picture but finally managed to look up to the person that entered and acknowledged his bodyguard with a nod of his head.

"Sir, Miss Gorlois is here to see you."

Balinor stood up and closed two buttons of his pinstriped black jacket. "Very well, please send her in."

Lancelot inclined his head and disappeared from the view. A few seconds later Morgause appeared with a large yellow envelope clutched in her hand and her designer bag in her other hand. She walked up to the desk, only to briefly stop and acknowledge the King. "Your Majesty." She said softly.

Balinor extended his hand to gesture to the white Victorian sofa in front of the fireplace. "Please sit." He said as he himself started to walk towards the sofa, but let Morgause sit first before he sat himself down on the vacant spot. "I take it you have news?" His head nodded towards the yellow envelope that currently laid on the glass coffee table.

Morgause's eyes glistened with pride of her accomplishment. "Indeed Sire, very good news even." She reached forward to grab the envelope from the table and handed it over to the King. "It holds the answer which you've been waiting for. About your…  _son_."

The King's breath hitched and for a moment and let his fingertips glide over the line that closed off the envelop to the document with the evidence. It suddenly became very real and almost very sudden; he had prepared himself more for the impossibility than for the possibility that Merlin was indeed his son. And now the evidence of it was there, right this second, in his hands.

His hand moved to grip the adhesive strip at the side and with one rip he had opened the flap. Balinor tentatively reached into the envelope and gripped the document at its top and pulled it slowly out, millimetre on millimetre of white paper started to appear until suddenly big bold black letters met his sight.

**_BIRTH CERTIFICATE._ **

With one tug he pulled the whole document out and his eyes roamed all over the document. And there it was, the actual proof of his parentage towards Merlin; his own name in the small box that said 'FATHER'S NAME'. He didn't doubt anymore that he was a father, his name was right there.  _Balinor Richard Adalric Emrys_  and reading those names made the uneasy feeling in his guts go away and he could almost cry from joy at finding out that he has a son, and he could cry as well from the hurt from being denied to know his son for the last nineteen years.

He steeled himself though, he wouldn't cry. At least not now. Instead he looked up to Morgause. "And you're absolutely sure this is official?" He asked, tightening his grip on the single piece of paper. His Personal Investigator nodded.

"As sure as I can ever be Sir." She said humbly. "It wasn't easy to get access to it for some reason though. The Prince was born in another country and well let's say that they were a bit difficult to persuade to give me a copy. But fortunally I have my methods and several contacts and they were able to provide me a copy of the official certificate. You can see that registrar's raised, embossed seal and its signature are present, which makes it an official document."

Balinor nodded in response and looked at the place of birth his son was born. As soon as his eyes fell on the words NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK he knew that Hunith must've gone there after she left the palace since her brother James lived in New York. He felt slightly betrayed because he had rung James up shortly after he had found Hunith's letter and asked him if he knew where she was, but he told him that he had no clue about his sister's whereabouts.

The next thing he noticed was the date of birth and he realized that Merlin was born not yet six months after she left, he could mentally slap himself. How could he not have noticed she was pregnant.

And finally his foggy haze cleared up and he finally noticed his son's full name.  _Merlin Linor Edward James Browne_. At first his mind got stuck at the last name. He couldn't believe that Hunith had changed her surname when it was brought to his attention the first time, when his bodyguard provided him that information about a month ago. It should be Swain  _not_  Browne, well in his opinion it should've been Emrys for almost two decades now.

He noticed Morgause looking intensively at him and his focus on the now so important document to him was momentarily disrupted. His eyes reached Morgause's and he nodded again and started to put the document back into the envelope. That was when he noticed that there was another piece of paper sitting in the envelope. He looked questionably up to Morgause before pulling the piece of paper out. It was only a row of numbers.

"What's this?"

Morgause shifted in her seat, acquiring a better position on the sofa. Her hands neatly folded together and resting into her lap. "That, your Majesty, is the Lady Hunith's telephone number. I obtained it just recently. I thought you might found it useful if you would like to contact the Lady beforehand."

Balinor's breath hitched right in the back of his throat. Even his most experienced bodyguards failed to obtain that important part of information, no matter how much effort they had put into getting it. He didn't know what to do with this newly found information now he  _actually_  got it in his possession. He could call her, or not. It would be just as big of a shock for Hunith to hear his voice again after twenty years, as it would for him to hear her angelic voice again.

Balinor swallowed the abundance of saliva that was currently found inside his mouth into his dry throat and hitched his forefinger between his neck and collar to release some of its tension. It suddenly seemed far tighter than thirty minutes ago.

"Is there something else you require of me sir?" Morgause's voice drummed through and broke his fascination with the row of number. He looked up and shook his head.

"No, that would be all for now. Thank you miss Gorlois."

Morgause smiled tight-lipped, just the right-side corner of her lips quirked up. "I'll inform you immediately if there is any newly found information." She stood up and inclined her head slightly. "Sir." She muttered and let herself out of the office through one of the two grand teak doors, leaving the King alone on the sofa.

Balinor gripped the two documents in his hand, as well as the envelope, before he retreated back to his desk and laid the two documents side by side on the worktop. His eyes switching sides every few seconds and let them finally rest on the birth certificate. He would worry about whether or not to call Hunith a bit later, he would have to think about it.

His mind now thought about the meaning of the names Hunith gave their son. First off; Merlin. His heart made a tiny jump of joy. When Hunith lived with him in his apartment they talked about children and what kind of parents they would be. They weren't really thinking about baby names, but that somehow just happened. Balinor was convinced that their child should get a strong name that was fit for a King or Queen, while Hunith always leaned towards the softer and unusual names.

One day she just brought the name Merlin up and he had to admit that back then he thought that name was absolutely absurd and unfit for royalty, but how naïve and wrong he was. A few days after Hunith had brought it up he found himself in the aviary in the Royal gardens and saw a Merlin falcon. He was fascinated by the bird, and although small, the bird was strong-minded and it inspired him. From that moment on he was absolutely sure that Merlin was a strong name and had Hunith informed that, no matter what, their child would be called Merlin. He could still recall the look of surprise that travelled over Hunith's face for a moment before she broke out in a big smile and wrapped her arms around his neck so tight that he almost suffocated by her grip.

And then the name James. That could either be after her father James or after her brother, who's name officially was James Junior and JJ for short. Maybe Hunith named both of them, he did not know.

But what struck him most were the names Linor and Edward. Edward was his father's name and he couldn't recall any of Hunith's relatives being called Edward, so that must be the only explanation. But he was confused on  _why_  she would include that name. Yes, it was an unofficial tradition to name the first born son of a Prince or King after its grandfather, just like he was named after his grandfather Adalric. But then again, Hunith had been treated horribly in the time she spent in the palace and he was just baffled that after everything she had been through, she still kept the tradition in honour and added his father's name in their son's name.

Then the last name that he had to ponder about was the name Linor. There was just one thought that came to him and that that name must be a shorter version from his own name. Maybe Hunith thought that adding his full name was too painful, but maybe she still wanted him a part of their son's life, somehow. He just did not know what Hunith's intentions were with adding his name, or at least a part of his name, but it didn't mattered to him, he was just happy to be a part of the importance of his son's name.

A deep sigh escaped his mouth and his elbows found a way to the worktop of his desk. He buried his head into his hands and blew out another large amount of oxygen. After twenty years of being unaware of having a son, all this information was a lot to take in.

Balinor leaned over to the side to tap in the secret code of his top drawer, after inserting the right code a soft beep was heard at which the drawer then slid open a few centimetres, just enough for Balinor to slip his fingers in it and pull it open all the way. He kept documents and other important things in there and since a month he kept the locket with Hunith's picture in there too when he brought it with him every time he had to go to his office. Pulling the locket on its string out, he placed it on his desk and placed his son's birth certificate into the drawer at which he shut it close again.

He opened the locket and placed it down onto the paper with Hunith's phone number, her bright eyes stared back at him. His fingers drummed nervously on the table top and he kept licking his chapped lips. His mouth dried out and swallowing became harder, but his stomach felt as if thousands butterflies were unleashed there and his heart was beating at a fast rhythm. He felt like all those years back again when he asked her to be his girlfriend… It was absurd to act this way now, he knew that. All he was planning to do was to call her on the phone, but he just couldn't help it that he felt like a lovesick teenager.

The drumming continued for a few moments before he drew in a deep breath of air and reached out for the black telephone receiver an arm's length away. The fingers of his free hand tentatively pushed the correct numbers and he heard the line connecting. Balinor sat back in his big leather swivel chair, drawing in deep breaths to calm himself, but it did little to the heavy pounding of his heart against his ribcage.

One, two, three, four connecting tones rang through his ears and he almost put the phone down when he was sure that the phone wouldn't be picked up at the other side. But just as he sat up straight to place the receiver back in its place again, the other side connected and a breathy " _hello… hello?_ " was being spoken. Balinor's eyes widened and he really wasn't prepared on what to say, it was just in an impulse he picked up the phone and pressed the numbers, he didn't really thinking he would be speaking to Hunith. But now he was and he was lost for words.

" _Hello, Browne residence_." Hunith said after a beat of silence. But Balinor was too shocked at hearing her voice once more. He quickly put the phone down on its base, breaking the connection and his hands found their way to his eyes. He placed his palms firmly over them and then brought them up to rake them through his already greying hair.

Her voice, her beautiful angelic voice. Heard again for the first time in two decades.

What was he supposed to do.

It was impossible for him to continue to be ignorant about the fact that he has a son, a heir. He has to do something about it, he has to get to speak to Hunith somehow, but not on the phone. He has to speak to her face to face. He has to know what happened all those years back and he really has to know why she never mentioned the fact that she was pregnant.

A headache started to play up just behind his eyelids.

An important question to all of this was if  _he_  was ready to be a father. He's been known for the entire time he has been a monarch as this ruler that stood alone, with no immediate family.

But he was determined to make it work, this was  _his_  flesh and blood. Oh yes, it would be hard at first, but eventually he would adapt into the role he was meant to be. To be a parent rather than a ruler, that would come at a second place.

A thought struck him and that was about the possibility that neither Hunith  _nor_  Merlin would want to have anything to do with him.

He couldn't think like that, not when he didn't even got a chance to have met his son in person. Nor having talked to Hunith. Yes, he would wait… for now. He would think long and hard about the best way to approach this delicate situation.

For now he just wanted his family to be safe.

Balinor reached out for a little white button on the telephone set and seconds later the teak door opened once more and his most trusted bodyguard entered.

"Sir?"

"Lancelot, do enter. There is something I need to tell you that is of utmost importance, please sit."

Balinor leaned forward in his chair and waited with folded hands on the table top for his guard to approach and take a seat across. As soon as Lance sat down, the King started to tell about the information he just had received from Morgause and that Merlin was indeed his son.

At the end of sharing the most important information, Balinor sat up straighter. "So you see Lancelot, I need you to inform all the teams with this information and I want a special team following Hunith  _and_  Merlin's every move, _but_  make sure they aren't seen by Hunith or Merlin, they cannot know about this, not yet. They're only allowed to intervene and make their presence known when the situation becomes dire." Balinor waited a moment for Lancelot to confirm the assignment. "I want to know who they come in contact with and where they will go to. I want weekly updates and to be notified immediately if there's any suspicious behaviour. Understood?"

"Yes Sire. We will do everything to protect the Prince and Lady." Lancelot nodded.

Balinor smiled. "Thank you Lancelot, I know I can trust you."

"Of course Sire." Lancelot said, standing up from his chair. "I'll call the teams together for an emergency meeting right away." He inclined his head and turned after the King's consent to leave.

For the second time today he found himself alone again in the massive room with his head full of newly found information. All he would do for now is wait and he was content with that. He didn't want to rush into things, he needed to calm himself first and get his head straight again before he would do anything rash and regret it later on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **** END NOTE ONE.   
>  **So why "Swain" as a surname you might wonder. Well let me tell you why; I like to use names with meanings in my stories (it, however, doesn't count for** **_all_ ** **the names I use in my story, sometimes I'll just use the ones that have a nice ring to it… anyways moving away from the point). The name Swain has several meanings that just** **_fit_ ** **with the Merlin from the show (it doesn't really comply to the Merlin in this story, but whatever... shhh!)**
> 
> **Swain means:**  
>  **A male lover or admirer (** *waggles eyebrows*)
> 
>  **Boyfriend (** *some more waggling* **)**
> 
> **A country lad**
> 
>  **A country gallant (** at which gallant could probably mean brave, honest and yes again, it could also mean lover. **)**
> 
>  **It also appeared in the Shakespearean work The Tempest (** well, this speaks for itself for why I also wanted to use it **) but it was used as the derived word 'boatswain' which actually means** young man in charge of a boat  **(** do I need to elaborate this? I think the S5 finale explains this… and yes I  _know_  it actually means something different **)**
> 
>  **And last but certainly not least. It also means** servant  **or**  attendant of a knight **. (** you know…  _obviously_ **)**
> 
>  
> 
> **Why yes I have too much time on my hands and have an obsession with (meaning of) names.**
> 
>  
> 
> ****  
> ****  
> _Keep interested and keep reviewing._


	4. Hidden Royalty Chapter Four

Merlin had gradually started to like Arthur more and more as the weeks progressed. It was now seven weeks since he first met Arthur and he had begun to see him more as this genuinely good person who would definitely trade everything he had just to help another person. Merlin liked that in Arthur and since the last two weeks he began to notice that he had developed some feelings that went beyond being just friends. But he knew he couldn't act on them, it was still impossible, because even though he saw Arthur as a normal human being, he still couldn't forget the fact that Arthur was a Prince and he just a normal person that was way out of Arthur's league.

He currently walked with Arthur through the hallways on their way to the History class. Arthur was talking about the History assignment that was due in a few days and Merlin absentmindedly listening to it while glancing down at the Chemistry planning in the open binder the he carried in his hands, Merlin found that a tad more important than an History assignment.

It somehow happened that he and Arthur had picked each other as project partners in every class they shared together, which weren't many, but they still asked each other whenever the occasion did arise.

Due to the fact that Merlin was so engrossed with the Chemistry planning, he wasn't really watching where he was going. Luckily Arthur was there to pull and push Merlin out of the way so that he didn't bump into any of his fellow students that swarmed the hallways on their way to their classes.

When Arthur saw that there was a particularly large group walking down from across the hallway he saw that there was little room to move Merlin properly out of the way and he ended up pushing Merlin's back up against the wall with his own chest pressed tightly against Merlin chest and his hands firmly wrapped around Merlin's upper arms. Their faces were just inches apart and Arthur looked deep into Merlin's widened eyes. Those bright blue eyes seemed to hold a story of their own and were now staring back into his own. Arthur was almost lost in them, but became aware of the situation, and he took a few steps back with a clearing of his throat. He realized that the just busy hallway was almost completely deserted at this point. There must've passed more time than he initially thought.

Merlin remained with his back against the wall and the binder flat against his stomach. Arthur didn't even felt that thing between the two of them when he stared into the bright eyes. As his mind caught up again he saw Merlin opening his mouth several times, but no words came out.

Merlin wasn't expecting that sort of move at all and it caught him off guard. And feeling Arthur's breath so warm onto his skin again gave him shivers all over, but in a somewhat good way. And that good way was felt by Merlin as his trousers felt a bit tighter than a few minutes ago. He was happy he held the binder at the right place, conveniently concealing his current state.

Arthur hadn't moved from his place now halfway into the hall and coughed once more before he said, "Err, we should… get to class." He vaguely gestured towards the direction of the classroom.

Merlin swallowed and then responded, "Yeah, I'll be right there, I just… erm nature calls." Merlin quickly fled to the nearby men's, not waiting for a response and certainly hoping that Arthur wouldn't follow him into the lav.

Locking himself up in one of the stalls, he put his backpack and the binder down on the ground and pressed his forehead against the door. He didn't want to think about the obvious bulge in his trousers and the source of why it happened in the first place.  _Surely didn't meant anything, I was just surprised by the act that's all, nothing that should indicate that Arthur's presence was the cause of it._

Merlin took a few deep breaths, feeling the restriction lessen enough for it to not be noticed by anyone. He grabbed his stuff, got out of the stall and looked into the mirror.  _Alright_. He thought and glanced at his watch and he growled softly. Class should be in progress for eight minutes already and the History teacher was already such a grumpy man. He just couldn't wait to hear the remark.

Merlin walked in a quick pace through the hall and got to the right classroom within the minute. He opened the door and stepped in. The class didn't bother to look up to see who entered, but the professor briefly stopped his lecture to say in an annoyed tone," Ah mister Browne, so nice of you to grace us with your presence."

**~oOoOo~**

Class couldn't have gone any slower in Merlin's opinion. Firstly it was Professor Alined's boring lecture that went on and on about almost every war there had been in the past, that man clearly loved the subject War. But secondly he was painfully aware of Arthur's presence next to him… and was it him or did Arthur sat a bit closer to him this time? He could swear that there was knee touching at some point of the class.

But finally class was over and he packed his stuff up in record time. But just as he stood up and the students drained out, the professor's voice piped up.

"Mister Browne. A moment."

"I'll wait outside." Arthur said in response to Merlin's sigh.

Merlin nodded to Arthur and turned back to the professor's desk. "Yes?"

"I hope that you won't disturb my lesson again with you coming in late."

"No sir, it won't happen again... sir."

"Good. Off you go."

When Merlin opened the door he saw Arthur standing there, waiting for him.

"What did Alined want this time? I swear that man isn't happy until every student is miserable. Just look at the amounts of homework he gives."

Merlin just hummed as he started walking, consciously creating a bit more space between himself and Arthur. Arthur noticed.

Arthur slowed his pace and almost whisperingly said, "Look, Merlin… that,  _moment_  that happened earlier was... just… I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or so. I just tried to avoid you getting knocked over. Well technically you still were…" Arthur trailed off nervously.

Merlin had slowed his pace too to keep up with Arthur's and hummed absentmindedly, but stopped completely once those words registered in his mind and he sharply jerked his head up. Arthur turned around to see why Merlin had stopped and frowned, but didn't said anything. He saw Merlin slightly blushing and heard how Merlin starting to babble.

"Wait, what? Moment? there wasn't a  _moment_. I don't know what you talk about…" He chuckled. "Moment. You're funny Arthur, you really are, you know that?. There aren't any  _moments_  between us." There was a beat of silence. "Alright, well I have to run or else I'll be late for Biology. See you for lunch Arthur."

This time round, he was happy to not have a class with Arthur.

Arthur looked at the retreating figure. Merlin acted weird, well weirder than usually. He saw the blush that had spread across Merlin's cheeks and he knew that Merlin knew that he knew. There  _was_  a moment and Merlin knew that too, or maybe Arthur just hoped that it was indeed a moment between the two of them. It was just that… maybe he wanted to know what Merlin thought about the possibility of them…  _together_.

Arthur shook his head. He couldn't think like that, Merlin might not even like him in  _that_  way and he didn't want to risk the friendship that had developed between them. He might have more feelings for Merlin than just friends, but he told himself that it was better to keep those to himself.

He sighed deeply as he started walking to the classroom where his next class took place and met Percival and Will on his way there.

**~oOoOo~**

"Merlin this guy is a bloody Picasso." Will announced with a slap on Merlin's back and plopping down onto the seat next to Merlin in the cafeteria. His bag being thrown casually onto the table, leaving hardly any room for any other stuff. "I mean, you should've seen him in Art class Merlin, all concentrated and serious."

Arthur took a seat across Merlin's and playfully shook his head. "Will, don't overreact. I'm decent,  _not_  Picasso."

Percival quietly sat down next to Arthur, but smiled. They somehow kept their seating plan as it was the very first day. "Come on Arthur, don't be modest, you're really good. I mean in comparison to what Will painted… wait, what was it again. A brown circle?" Percy said smugly, looking to Will with a comical smirk and pushing Will's bag away to make some room.

Will caught his bag and scoffed with a cocked eyebrow. He leaned forward and said, "It was,  _not,_ just a brown circle. It was a brown M&M, didn't you see the letters?"

Arthur and Percival laughed, with Percival saying, "Must've been very small letters."

Will narrowed his eyes to the two guys opposite of him. "Whatever." He said and started to munch on one of the plenty sandwiches he brought with him that day.

Merlin had been quiet, just sipping his coke. Being without Percy, Will and especially Arthur in class, he had time to think. Well time to  _overthink_  things. And of course, what else would it be, Arthur was the one that was keeping his mind occupied.

He knew that Arthur was right, there was indeed a  _moment_. Dammit he had no other choice than to admit it. There was! But would there really be a problem if he acted on it? He was gay, Arthur was gay that was already something less to worry about. But it that wasn't enough for him. Merlin still hadn't forgotten about the fact that Arthur was a Prince and he couldn't even fathom his mother's reaction if he would come back home with the announcement that Arthur was his boyfriend. He still was angry at his mother for not telling him about what the hell was bothering her, but he knew it had to be something about royalty.

Merlin took another thoughtful swig of his coke. Eyes quickly moving up to Arthur who was in a conversation with Percival, but suddenly looked over to Merlin. Maybe he felt someone staring, you know… that feeling that someone is staring at you and you just have to look. Arthur smiled but Merlin couldn't take it and stood up, swinging one strap of his backpack onto his shoulder.

"Merlin, where you going?" Arthur tried, but Merlin already walked away.

"What's up his butt. He's been like that for some days now" Will said, looking how Merlin walked away and secretly looking from the corner of his eyes to Arthur's reaction. He then shrugged and said, "Well I have seen that face, better to leave him alone for a while."

**~oOoOo~**

Arthur found out that Merlin had called in sick at the registry office after lunch.

And now that school was finished for the day, Arthur found himself in the back of the black SUV on his way to Merlin's house. He wasn't sure what he would say or do when he got there, but he'd figure that out when that time would come. At least he wanted to try to clear up that  _thing_.

Leon slowed the car and when it came to a stop he turned his head slightly and said, "We're here Arthur. Number 328."

Arthur breathed in. "Thank you Leon, would you mind just waiting outside instead of coming in. I'll be fine."

Leon nodded. "Of course. Just give me a ring when you need me."

"Will do." Arthur replied as he opened the car door and slipped out of the car, slowly walking towards the front door. Why he walked slowly he actually didn't know, it was just that Merlin was making him act differently and he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about the guy that made him do it.

He lifted his hand to push on the doorbell and waited. He didn't had to wait long though, because within ten seconds the door opened and Merlin stood there with his head down and ruffling through his wallet. When he lifted his head he frowned and cocked his head.

"You're not pizza." He said, surprised.

"No. Just Arthur." Arthur replied, shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

Merlin shook his head and blushed slightly. "You're not  _just_  Arthur." He paused after realizing what he said, and hoped Arthur would perceive it as something different than what he actually meant. "Anyways… what are you doing here?"

"I'd just… I want to talk, no…  _can_  I talk to you?"

"Err…" Merlin rubbed the back of his neck and contemplated it for a second. His mum wouldn't be home for hours, so here shouldn't be a confrontation between her and Arthur. "Sure, why not. Hope you're in the mood for some pizza. It should be here any minute."

"What are we having?"

"Pepperoni." Merlin said, stepping back and holding the door open some more for Arthur to enter.

Arthur flashed a smile and said, "My favourite." He swept his feet on the 'welcome' doormat and entered the house. It was a cosy little hallway with a mirror on one wall, a coat rack on the other wall and a staircase leading upstairs. There was enough room to put your shoes neatly away, but there was nothing more that could be put there.

Arthur followed Merlin through the door leading to the kitchen after toeing his shoes off and hanging up his jacket. The kitchen was bigger than he'd expected, but that might be because it was a kitchen dining combination. The kitchen part itself was decent sized and it even had a cooking island with a small bar with three stools. On the countertop of the bar stood a glass filled with orange juice.

"You want something to drink?" Merlin asked, his head already buried in one of the cabinets.

It took a second for Arthur to respond. "Sure."

"What do you want? There's water, orange juice, apple juice, erm cola, err…"

"Orange juice is fine." Arthur commented quickly when he saw Merlin overthinking the variety of beverage present in the house. "Nice place by the way."

Merlin placed the filled glass next to his on the bar, then he took a seat on one of the stools and said, "Err, thanks. Mum and I fixed this place up ourselves when she bought it about four years ago. It's probably the opposite of what you're used to, but I like it. It's home you know… well one of the many." He finished with a small chuckle.

"What you mean?" Arthur asked with his head tilted.

"Mum and I… well we travel a lot. Ever since I can remember we moved from country to country every so much time, sometimes we stayed somewhere for years and other times we stay just a few months. I can still remember that one time it was like six months, but I was like seven or so at that time so it's a bit of a vague memory. But still, it's a wonder we've been in England for four going on five years now. That having said, I won't even be surprised if she told me to pack up my stuff next week."

"That must've sucked." Arthur replied, taking a sip from the glass.

Merlin shrugged. "A bit perhaps, but then again I've seen so much of the world these last few years so it wasn't  _really_  that bad."

"Okay, fair enough." Arthur said.

There was silence, the two of them just sitting there and drinking their drinks. Arthur started to feel uncomfortable by the long pause and asked, "Is there a reason why you and your mum travel around so much?"

Merlin opened his mouth, but then closed it. He furrowed his brows slightly and waited a moment to response. "I… actually don't know. I've never questioned it because I was so used to moving around all the time." He started to chuckle lightly. "Huh, it's weird now I have to think about it, I have absolutely no clue. Well no clue… it's probably because my mum wants to help people all over the world. Like now here in England she's an activity supervisor in the elderly home a few blocks away from here. But we've also lived in Africa for  _hmmm_  about a year and a half I guess, to help a village with building homes and such. And before we moved to England we lived in Italy where we helped homeless people in finding a place to stay…" Merlin shrugged once more and added, "And a few more countries, but I won't bore you too much with this."

Arthur had been fascinated by Merlin's story, and he loved that he learnt a bit more about Merlin. He was amazed by how this person next to him was actually such an helpful and such an unselfish person. He almost felt ashamed that he hadn't done as many good deeds as Merlin did, but maybe he could talk with his father about certain projects that could be done. He's sure that his father as the King would only have the best of interest in the people of this country.

And bore him? Never.

"Merlin, wow… I had no idea that you were so helpful. Okay, no wait that came out wrong and sounded harsh. I didn't mean that you weren't normally helpful… argh I mean..."

The doorbell rang.

Merlin jumped off his stool and sent Arthur a wink. "Saved by the bell." He commented as he walked out of the kitchen and didn't witness how Arthur put his forehead on the countertop.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin came back with the pizza box in his hands and placed it on the bar before moving away to one of the cabinets and returning with two plates.

He put one plate in front of Arthur and looked at him with a tilted head before asking. "You don't mind eating with your hands do you? I mean… pizza."

Arthur rolled his eyes in response and told Merlin, "No Merlin. Gods, even my father eats pizza with his hands." Arthur shook his head and tore off one piece and placed in on Merlin's plate and then tore another piece off and put it on his own.

Arthur turned back to look at Merlin and his face said it all. Arthur snorted softly. "Merlin, how absurd it might sound to you. My father is a normal human being."

"I didn't say anything!" Merlin defended shamefully and quickly took a bite of his slice.

Arthur's lips quipped up. "No, not in so many words, but your face spoke volumes."

**~oOoOo~**

They ate in silence for a little while. When Arthur was finished he wiped his mouth and hands off on a sheet of the kitchen roll that was just an arm's length away. "Well I'm full." He mentioned.

"Me too." Merlin admitted, shoving his plate out of the way.

"So…" Merlin said, fingers drumming on the countertop.

"So." Arthur repeated.

"You said you wanted to talk?" Merlin said a bit uncertainty in his voice.

Arthur bit his bottom lip. "Err, yeah. About… what happened… this morning." Arthur took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't mean to, but…"

Shit he was nervous, he was stammering.  _Pull it together!_  Arthur reprimanded to himself.

Merlin lightly shook his head, he really tried to keep the blush as undetectable as possible. Arthur surely did had that effect on him. "Arthur, really it's fine. You were trying to help, I get it. No reason to explain."

"No wait that's not what I meant-" Arthur's attempt to explain himself further was cut off by Merlin standing up and getting another plate to put the remaining slices on. When he put the plate in the fridge he tried to ignore Arthur's fruitless attempts in getting a sentence out of his mouth. Maybe he just didn't want to know what Arthur actually meant, maybe he was just not ready for it to hear it. It was just not possible to get involved with Arthur.

Arthur tried several times to come up with coherent sentences, but his head was a cluttered chaos right now.

Merlin continued to bustle around the kitchen, tidying it up. When he reached out to pick up the dirty glasses and plates to wash up, Arthur curled his fingers around Merlin's his wrist and Merlin looked down, his eyes slightly widened at seeing the look on Arthur's face. His features were so gentle and his eyes seemed to sparkle even more than they already normally did.

Arthur raised himself off the stool. "Here, let me." He let go of Merlin's wrist and picked up the dirty dishes and made his way to the sink. Arthur opened a few cabinets before he found some soap and a sponge. Merlin stood numbed for a moment but then moved quietly towards Arthur, picking up the dish towel on his way. He leaned with his hip against the counter and his hands awkwardly shoved into his pockets, the dish towel was hanging for the most part against his leg.

He continued to watch how Arthur checked the water temperature before putting in the water plug in. Arthur continued by squirting a dollop of dish soap in the rising water and the bubbles started to appear.

The tension between the two of them was palpable in the air and Arthur glanced sideways and caught Merlin's look. In an attempt to lighten up the mood, he jokingly asked, "What?" Never seen a Prince do dishes before?"

It seemed that it worked as Merlin chuckled and shook his head. "Nope. And I must say that I'm impressed. Thought you were spoiled and had a dozen of servants to clean up after your royal arse."

Arthur scoffed mockingly and put his hand on his chest as if his feelings were being hurt. "Well,  _Mer_ lin. For one, yes I  _am_  spoiled and two, there are servants – although we prefer to call them butlers and maids. But seriously when we just have a normal dinner me and my mum and occasionally my father, just do the dishes afterwards. In fact we love it, gives us a chance to talk. Okay, okay, I'll grant you that the food is prepared by cooks."

Without Merlin realising, Arthur dipped his hand into the sink to get some water and soap bubbles and threw it at Merlin's direction, it landed on his upper arm and wetted a bit of his shirt. Merlin laughed and tried to hit Arthur with the towel but he didn't got enough force after it so it merely landed on Arthur's arm. With Arthur's quick reflex he grabbed the end of the towel and pulled it, simultaneously pulling Merlin with it and suddenly they found themselves quite close against each other's chest again.

'Oh." Merlin breathed out. He looked straight into Arthur's azure blue eyes and momentarily forgot everything around him. He felt an hand curl around his neck and before he knew it Arthur pulled him even closer, crashing their lips together in a sloppy and chaste kiss.

Merlin melted into the kiss, but his mind quickly caught up with him and he realised what he was doing. His hands pushed lightly against Arthur's chest, trying to create more room and he broke the kiss. "Arthur wait, no." He breathed out, his hands still placed on Arthur's chest. He couldn't look him in the eye, not yet.

Arthur's mind seemed to have caught up too and he stepped back, shaking his head. "Oh god. I'm… oh god."

Arthur started to quickly walk out of the kitchen, well more like stumble. Merlin followed him instantly and when he came into the hallway he saw Arthur already shoving his feet into his shoes, he didn't even bother in tying them.

"Arthur. Wait." Merlin said, advancing quickly. Arthur did stop and turned to face Merlin.

Merlin continued. "Sorry, it's just that you're  _you._ You're a Prince and I'm just-"

"Just forget that I'm a goddamn Prince! Is that all I am to you?" Arthur looked heartbroken and turned to the door to open it. When he stepped outside Merlin grabbed his hand and even though Arthur looked down to their hands being held together, he freed his hand and softly said, "Merlin, I'm sorry but I have to go."

Merlin stood in the door opening, watching how the bodyguard held the back door open when he saw Arthur walking out the house.

Arthur didn't turn back to look at him and all Merlin could do was to watch the car drive down the street and disappear around the corner.

All this time, he didn't noticed the person guarded with a camera.


	5. Hidden Royalty Chapter Five

Ever since Arthur came back home, he's been absent and pretty much staring in front of him to nothing in particular and soon left to be in his room. Both Uther and Ygraine noticed it but didn't asked questions, at least not yet. They knew their son well enough to not pressure him into talking because that wouldn't work anyway. If anything, it would make Arthur withdraw even more. So because of that, they left him alone in his room until it was time for dinner.

Uther started to cut his meat and cleared his throat. "Arthur. You know that Balinor will visit the university in two weeks' time don't you?"

Ygraine shook her head, deliberately clearing her throat to cut Uther off. "Uther dear, we agreed on no diplomatic talk during dinner."

"Darling, I hardly call this a diplomatic talk, he's our frien-" Uther stopped once he saw his wife's glare and added. "Yes dear." He quickly took a sip of his water to avoid looking at his wife's glare any longer. That's when he noticed Arthur's slightly slumped shoulders and he looked back at his wife.

They saw that Arthur kept staring at his phone next to him on the dining table, but they still didn't said anything about it.

However, their breaking point came when it was twenty minutes later and Arthur hadn't been eating this entire time, he was just pushing his food around with his fork and they became seriously worried about their son.

"Arthur darling, are you okay? You seem a bit… distracted." His mother enquired softly.

Arthur tilted his head when he heard he was spoken too, and he saw his mother talking to him, but the words didn't really register in his mind. He just hummed in response and continued to push his food back and forth over the plate. He completely lost his appetite and the reason was not because he ate some pizza with Merlin. That was already two hours ago and normally he would be hungry again at this time, but right now he just wasn't in the mood for anything.

"Uther, you try. He doesn't seem to listen." Ygraine urged with a nudge of her hand against her husband's arm.

Uther reached his hand out to put over the one Arthur rested on top of the table. It seemed to have some effect since Arthur stopped playing with his food and looked up and actually made eye contact with his father. Uther smiled and Arthur tried to return the favour but he couldn't give his father much more than a twitch of his lip.

"Arthur, if there's something bothering you, you can tell us. You know that right?" Uther emphasized his point with a small squeeze into his son's hand, but it did nothing to open Arthur up since Arthur freed his hand out of his father's and stood up, his phone firmly clutched in his other hand.

He softly asked, "Can I be excused?"

He didn't wait for the response and just walked away, shoulders sagging as he walked away.

As the doors closed, Ygraine turned to her husband. "Do you think something has happened at school? Has he been threatened? No, that can't be it, Leon would've told us. I should talk to him."

Ygraine rose from her chair, but Uther gently put his hand on her lower arm and easing her back into the chair. Ygraine frowned but waited for what Uther would tell her.

"Hold on dear. Just think about what is different today."

Ygraine's frown deepened, what was her husband playing at? "Well, our son is unhappy that's what different. I should go to him." She made move again to stand up, but Uther pulled her back once more.

"Just a second dear. Yes he is unhappy, but what else?" Uther sat back in his chair and chuckled lightly with a grin on his face. He saw his wife narrowing her eyes to him.

"Uther I don't have time for these games. I can't believe you react so coldheartedly, our son is unhappy and you sit here grinning like a fool."

"Merlin, dear. Merlin." Uther chuckled, shaking his head from left to right. "Think about it. For the last five, six weeks we heard at least once a day something about this Merlin boy, but today… nothing. Add that to the fact that he went to the boy's house and returned the way he's acting now. Now I'm not an expert in this field, but I think the signs point to one and the same thing…"

Ygraine gave answer to the unfinished question softly under her breath "…Arthur likes Merlin more than a friend and did something but Merlin rejected him."

"And you know how teens always think their world is coming to an end after rejection." Uther added and wanted to laugh but then he saw his wife turn her head sharply towards him and glared at him.

"Exactly  _how_  did you know that he went to Merlin's house?"

Uther, realizing that his wife caught on to that, gulped and dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "I… err… love you have to see-"

"Don't ' _love'_  me. Uther have you been inquiring again?! I thought we agreed on not doing that anymore. Arthur has his own life and we have to respect that. Leon is only obligated to tell us whenever something has happened, and  _not_  telling us every single step our son makes or every personal visit he does." Ygraine stood up, pointing her index finger to her husband.

"Uther I'm not done talking about this, don't think I'll get you off the hook this easily because we  _will_  talk about it tonight, but Arthur needs me now." She walked away but before she walked out the door she turned and said, "Have fun doing the dishes on your own and don't even  _think_ about letting one of the maids do it." With that said she left the room.

Uther sighed, but got on with the task laid out to him and started to collect the crockery.

**~oOoOo~**

Arthur sighed when he entered his room. His phone had vibrated enough during dinner time from all the messages and voicemails he received from other people, but there was nothing from the person he wanted to speak to the most; Merlin.

He had sent numerous texts and voicemails to Merlin, asking him to call him and he even e-mailed the guy, but he got not one response in return and it bugged him.

Now some time had passed and he had let everything that happened that day sink in, he came to the conclusion that Merlin needed an explanation for why he acted like that. He needed to tell him that they  _weren't_ just impulsive actions and that he really liked Merlin. But in order to do that meant that Merlin had to pick up the phone or answer his emails. Clearly he was ignoring him.

He stared at his phone for about thirty second before he gave up and threw the phone on the bed, it slightly bounced on the comforter by the impact.

He walked into his bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet, and pulled the box with painkillers out. He took two of them and washed them down with a glass of water. He hoped that the headache that started to come up would be gone when he would wake up again.

He turned off all the lights and closed the shutters almost all the way and crept under the covers. As soon as his head hit the pillows he was asleep.

When there was a knock on the door minutes later he didn't stir, he was out of the world.

Ygraine opened the door a bit when her son didn't answered it and was greeted by darkness with just hints of sunlight still streaming through the almost closed shutters. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust and when they were she saw her son asleep on his bed. She smiled but with a hint of sadness before she walked quietly in the room, not wanting to disturb her son's sleep and sat down on the edge of his bed. She looked at him for a while and thought about all sorts of things. Him as a baby, toddler, teenager and how her nineteen year old son was now on his way in becoming a great man.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but she decided that it was time to let her son alone now. If what her husband said was true than Arthur would be devastated if he was rejected. And from the stories she heard from her son about Merlin she was sure that Arthur liked Merlin very much and that Merlin could be the perfect partner for her son.

She would just have to wait until Arthur would come to her with the story to find out if that's indeed the cause of her son's sadness.

Ygraine stood up and bent over to peck a kiss on her son's hair. She whispered, "Everything will be fine. I promise."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin sat on the couch hugging a pillow close to his chest. He had turned the TV on but he wasn't watching, instead he kept replaying the moment the kiss happened in his head and occasionally he subconsciously touched his lips with the tips of his fingers.

And there were moments he had a downright existential crisis.

Arthur kissed  _him_. Him!

He obviously had noticed that Arthur tried to call him and he noticed that Arthur was being persistent and not giving up so easily. Arthur had tried other ways in trying to get in contact with him too, but he just couldn't and didn't want to speak to Arthur right now. He wasn't sure if he trusted himself enough to talk to Arthur, he might spill out that he had a crush on him.

For all he knew, Arthur could've just been caught up in the moment and  _accidentally_  kissed him, so if he was going to spill the beans that he actually like Arthur it could end in a disaster. In the worst case Arthur would hate him and he would never want to see him again. That wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

His thoughts were cut short when he heard the door opening and his mum yelling to him to help her with the bags.

When he came into the hallway he froze. The bags were put on the ground, but his mother stood at the coatrack with Arthur's red Ralph Lauren football style jacket with white sleeves in her hands. Arthur must've forgotten it because he was in such a rush. _A rush to get as far and quick as possible away from me_. He reminded to himself.

Hunith's eyebrows were slightly drawn to each other and she looked up from the coat to Merlin. "Who's this?"

Merlin put his hand in the back of his neck. He couldn't possible tell his mother who was here, he had no idea how she would react. "Err… Will's?" He answered insecure.

Hunith's eyebrows knitted even further together. "Will's?" She repeated with a high voice. "Since when does Will wear Ralph Lauren? That boy wears a jacket from three years ago. Merlin, tell me the truth."

Merlin huffed slightly, telling the truth doesn't exactly run in the family. But he decided to be bold and confront his mother on  _who_  exactly had visited him. She didn't have to know any details about the visit, because even  _he_  doesn't want to say it out loud. But if he tells her who visited, he will have another pressure point against his mother to tell him what exactly she's keeping from him.

So he leaned against the wall with his shoulder and folded his arms over each other in front of his chest and casually said, "Arthur."

**~oOoOo~**

The confrontation about Arthur with his mother lead to a fight. Merlin had been not yet shouting at his mother why it was so bad that he would spend time with Arthur, but his mother didn't respond. Well not loudly anyways, he heard her mumble some words but they made no sense to him of why she was so secretive these past weeks. It angered him so much that he stormed out of the house once again.

As he walked down the street, Merlin thrusts his hand deep into the pockets of his hoodie to shield them to the cold November weather. He thanked his luck that it wasn't snowing.

While he walked he thought back about the fight. He could've sworn he heard the word 'father' when his mother was mumbling, but he wasn't sure. And even if that was the word she said he didn't get it. His mother had told him since he was little that his father was out of the picture and not to be worried over, that they would be just fine with just the two of them. And he believed her and didn't ask any further questions, over the years he didn't even think about who his father could be, especially since his uncle JJ was as good as a father to him than any other guy.

But what if the thing she kept secret for him was about his father, maybe he wanted to see his mother? Maybe he wanted to see him? But that wasn't a reason to be secretive, his mother could've just told him that,  _why the secrets_! And his  _father_  hadn't shown his face for the last nineteen years, so he doesn't have to bother in showing up now.

As his mum predicted, they were coping just fine with just the two of them.

His feet moved on its own towards a familiar house, Will's house. He knocked on the door and waited, hoping his friend would be home at this time. When it wasn't opened after a few moment he knocked again, that's when he heard the thudding of footsteps on the stair and moments later the door flung open, revealing Will only wearing sweatpants and a towel draped around his neck. Merlin could see drops of water dripping of his hair.

"Sorry mate, just came out of the shower and parents aren't home since they're having a business diner from dad's company or whatever. Anyways, what's up?" He stepped back and opened the door fully for Merlin to enter.

When Merlin entered his friend's house he didn't noticed he was being followed by an SUV and the person dressed in black in the SUV -now parked at the end of the street- passed the new information through his headset. "The Prince has entered his friend Will's house."

Not far away from the SUV was another car parked. Morgause took some pictures and then drove away. She had enough pictures to give the King some updates again.

**~oOoOo~**

Will pushed a glass of cola in Merlin's hand and plopped down on his bed. He had pulled on the first shirt he could find, but his hair was still damp from the shower he just took.

Merlin sat on Will's desk chair and swivelled nervously from left to right and back again.

Will looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and he kept tapping his own glass repeatedly with his fingernail, the sound echoed through the whole room. It was a subconscious act but it was making Merlin flinch every time the nail came in contact with the glass.

"Spill, Browne. The last time you were this nervous in my room was when you were fifteen and you were going to tell me you broke my PlayStation. What is it this time?"

Merlin sucked in a deep breath, tentatively putting his own glass down on the desk. He saw a picture frame with a picture of him and Will. It was taken on Will's sixteenth birthday. He turned round to face his friend again.

"Will, can I trust you to not tell a living soul about what I am to say?

Will pursed his lips, thinking about it for a second. "Hmm, well it depends on what you're about to say really." He leant back against the wall that his bed was pushed up against and waited for what his friend was about to tell him. Surely it wasn't something horrible or otherwise his friend would look even more distressed than he did at this moment. Maybe it was something that involved his mother because he knew that Merlin and his mother had some issues even though Merlin didn't really like to expand too much about that subject. Merlin just told him that he and his mother were going through some rough patches.

Merlin scratched his head, trying to find the right words to tell his best friend that Arthur, the future King of England, Wales, whatever, had kissed him… and that he actually liked it.

In the end, the right words to tell his friend failed him and he blurted it out in one whole sentence. He looked down on his hands that were fidgeting and waited for the reprimand, maybe completed with some shouting, from his best friend. Instead he heard a deep sigh completed with the comment, "Well it's about  _bloody_  time. It was almost becoming unbearable seeing the two of you together. Goodness, the sexual tension is jumping off you two."

The blush had started somewhere in the back of his neck, but soon enough it travelled to the tip of Merlin's ears after he heard the last thing that his best friend said and his head snapped up. "Y-you knew?"

"Yes! Of course I knew." His friend not just screamed with a shake of his head and a smile gracing his lips. "I know, Percy know, lord have mercy I suppose the whole school knows. Oh my, this is priceless… Hold up, I have to call Percy about this."

Before Merlin had the chance to interfere, Will already had his phone out and connected it to Percy's number. Merlin jumped off his chair to stop Will but Will held his arm and legs out, all the while giggling like some school girl.

Will successfully fended off Merlin's futile attempts to hit him hard as he was waiting for Percy to pick up the phone.

It didn't take long before the line connected. "What's up." Percy said.

"Guess what. Merlin and Arthur finally hit it off."

"Well, it's about time. I don't know if I could sit through one of those awkward lunches anymore. Are they there?"

"Nah man, just Merlin. Say hello." Will pushed his phone into Merlin's face.

"William I'm gonna kill you… And you're next Percival." Merlin shouted towards the phone and his threats were answered by giggles and outright loud laughter from both guys. Merlin picked up one of Will's pillows and started to pound it onto his friend.

Will tried to hold of the blows by shielding them with his arm, all the while keeping contact with Percy. "Oh no, he said Percival. We should watch out Percy, he's using our full names."

The response he got was even more laughter, some rustling and then the line was cut off.

Will got a text soon after.

**From: Percy**  
**6:26 pm**  
_LOL dropped phone on floor._  
_Tell Merlin I want to be the best man on their wedding._  
_See you 2 on Monday._

Will showed the message to Merlin as his laughing died down and Merlin had decided to stop hitting him with the pillow. Merlin snarled mockingly to the phone before he took his seat on the desk chair, his head buried in his hands.

"Seriously, what am I going to do about this?" He mumbled almost incoherently, but Will heard and understood.

"Well… Have you tried talking to Arthur after he went away?" Will held up his shoulders.

"Well erm, no. He called a dozen of times and emailed and god knows what, but I ignored him for the past three or so hours. I don't know what I have to say to him  _when_  I get to talk to him. ' _Oh hey guess what, I like you too so let's get together and shag all night, oh don't worry you're just the Prince and I'm a peasant it's the twenty first century they won't mind_.' Seriously I'm way,  _way_ , out of his league."

Will's face turned into a scowl and adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on his bed. He settled on sitting cross-legged and pillowed his chin on his hand. "Merlin, why are you making it such a problem that he's a Prince? You've never worried about that. Heck about two months ago you despised it and now you're making problems about it. That makes no sense. You have to see Arthur as Arthur, just like he is on school. You know that he isn't thrilled to be born with a title and just wants to be treated normally. Now what do you think it does to the guy to be rejected by a person who he obviously likes because of that very same fact."

Merlin dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, grunting softly. "Ugh, I already feel bad enough as it is, you don't have to make it worse. But I just don't know anymore, it's just not the best time. There are all kinds of things in my life piling up in one big mountain and I feel like I'm buried beneath it."

The next thing he knew he felt two arms wrapping around his shoulder from behind him.

"Now don't think I'm becoming sappy because let me tell you I am  _not_." Will commented. "But you know that I'm here for you when you need to talk or just need to be away from everything."

"I know." Merlin softly replied.

"But you have to talk to Arthur. Heck if you want me and Percy will go with you, we have your back."

"Thanks." Merlin mumbled. "But I think I need to talk to him alone."

"If that's what you want." Will said and let go of his friend. He turned on his TV and flipped through the TV guide on the screen to search the right channel. When he found it, he turned to his friend. "You can sleep here tonight if you want, and  _American Horror Story_  is starting in about five minutes. It's the season finale, even though we both saw it already. What you say?"

Merlin nodded. "I'd like that."

"Cool, I'll call my parents to say you're staying and grab some crisps. Back in a sec."

Will was quick to leave the room and Merlin fished his phone out of his pocket. He first sent his mother a quick text that he would stay at Will's. He was still angry at her, but she didn't deserve to be stressed because she didn't know where he was. The next on his list to contact was Arthur.

**To: Arthur**  
**6:38 pm**  
_We need to talk. Library tomorrow?_  
_It's Saturday so no one will be there. I'll text you the time._

He sent it before he could change his mind, just as Will entered the room again. His hands full of three different flavours of crisps and balancing a bottle of cola under his armpit. "Okay?" Will asked to be sure.

"Yeah." Merlin replied and grabbed the bottle from his friend.

**~oOoOo~**

Back in the Mercian palace, Balinor was just interrupted by Morgause who came to him as soon as her plane touched ground an hour after she took the last picture of Merlin entering Will's house.

She had shown on previous visits who Merlin's closest friends were, and that included the Crown Prince of Wales, which had surprised the Mercian King but wasn't opposed to it one bit. In fact he was happy that he was befriended with the Prince since Arthur must've kept some security around him, which was only better for his own son to have some extra eyes watching him.

He learnt about Will and Percival and how Will has been Merlin's friend for the past four years and that Percival was the little brother of one of his own security guards.

Right now, Morgause had scattered a few dozen of new pictures on the grand desk ranging from Hunith and Merlin to Merlin and some students on the campus. She also had taken quite some pictures of Arthur and Merlin together and what was noticeable on those were that whenever one wasn't looking, the other would be staring at the other. Like a couple in love.

Balinor had noticed too and thought it might be because they became closer friends in the past few weeks as Morgause had pointed out to him in an earlier visit, but then Morgause showed him the pictures she took today. Merlin grabbing Arthur's hand just as Arthur left Merlin's house, with Merlin's hair slightly sticking out in the back.

Morgause didn't had to give an explanation to the King on what possibly had happened and the King didn't mind that there might be a relationship developing between the two of them.

"Thank you Miss Gorlois." Balinor said as he kept staring at the pictures. "I appreciate all your efforts and wish for you to continue this line of work as soon as possible."

"Of course Your Majesty. I'll leave for London early tomorrow morning." She inclined her head and walked out of the private room.

Balinor sat down in one of the many plush chairs in the room and stared into the fireplace that held a crackling fire. In just a few days he would leave to go to England and then would see both his son as the love of his life. He just didn't know how yet, well obviously he would see Merlin on his visit to the university, but he needed to find a way to get in contact with Hunith. He placed his fingertips together and brought them under his chin and tried to ignore that feeling that started to curl up from within his stomach every time he would think about getting to speak to Hunith once again in nineteen years.

The only thing that kept him from being truly happy was that he wouldn't know how it would go when Merlin learnt about his heritage and Merlin would not accept it. He would be absolutely devastated and he wouldn't want to think about what he would do if that would be indeed the case. He just had to hope for the best.


	6. Hidden Royalty Chapter Six

Merlin sat nervously waiting on the fourth floor of the library, it was the floor specifically equipped for students so on a Saturday you wouldn't find many, if any at all. It was the perfect place to talk in private.

When he woke up around nine-ish that morning he had checked his phone but he didn't had received any messages from Arthur. Until about half an hour later when his phone beeped and he checked the message he got. It was indeed from Arthur and all it said was;  _alright_. So he texted him the time and was now waiting for Arthur to show up and he felt really nervous about seeing Arthur again.

He wondered to himself that how it was possible that in a time period of just two months a guy could have won him over, normally he was very sketchy of entering into any kind of relationship, even friendship, with people because he's been hurt and betrayed before in the past for going too fast. But something about Arthur made him not even realise that he would be going to fast, it just felt right and nothing like a relationship he had when he was a few years younger than he was now.

Alright it was with an Australian boy who was just on holiday in England when he was about fifteen years old, and it only lasted like six days, but he was really hurt when it turned out to be just a summer romance. He really thought that this could've turned into something more. The hurt intensified when he found out that the guy, was already  _in_  a relationship with someone back in Australia when he was on that holiday in England. He felt betrayed and particularly because he almost slept with the guy, which would be his first.

Ever since that happened, he was just cautious in getting  _too_  close to people. That however also meant that he was still an eighteen year old virgin.

Merlin sighed thinking about that, and thrust his hand under his chin as he kept waiting for Arthur to arrive. He checked his phone for the umpteenth time to see if Arthur perhaps decided to call it off, but his phone was still blank, save for the one message he  _just_  received from Will with some last encouragements.

He then felt an hand on his shoulder and looked up, he looked straight into Arthur's blue eyes and just as fast as they connected, just as fast Merlin averted his eyes. As he looked around he saw not one, not two but a total of five men dressed in all-black attire and keeping their finger pressed firmly at their ear and talking through -what Merlin presumed- mics in their collars. Two of the five were standing next to the entrance of the floor while the other three stood quite closely to Arthur, and Merlin started to feel queasy about the looks that they gave him.

Merlin pointed with a jerk of his head at them. "Yours I guess?" He asked, almost mockingly.

"Merlin…" Arthur began exasperated. "Don't do this. Forget they're here." Arthur slid the chair besides Merlin's back and sat down.

Merlin scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's not that easy to ignore them, they are looking at me like they want to murder me."

Arthur closed his eyes for a second and inhaled deeply. He then turned his head and gave a short jerk with it. The men in black fanned out more so they wouldn't be so in view and Arthur hoped that this would make Merlin a bit more comfortable. "Better?" He asked and Merlin gave a one shoulder shrug.

Arthur licked is dry lips. "Merlin, thanks for texting me. We really need to talk."

"We sure as hell have to." Merlin replied harshly and looked away.

Arthur softly shook his head. He turned to look towards Merlin and saw his annoyed face. He felt guilty for making Merlin acting like this. It was not exactly like he had figured everything out beforehand, he was just instinctively acting, but he didn't regret anything. If any, he wanted to know what Merlin's feels about this were, hopefully they would be the same as his.

"Merlin." He said, but Merlin refused to look at him. "Merlin." He tried again, this time a bit harder and this time Merlin  _did_  look at him, however he leaned heavily back against the backrest of the chair and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Merlin, I won't apologize for what happened yesterday." Arthur began and he heard Merlin scoff. Before he knew it, Merlin stood up but he couldn't get away since the chair Arthur sat on was blocking his way. Arthur reached out to grab one of Merlin's wrists and looked up. He tried again.

"Merlin, I won't apologize because I  _don't_  regret doing it." Arthur grabbed all the courage he could find inside him and said what he wanted to say, and damn any consequences. This way he would have it off his chest and Merlin would know what he actually felt for him. He tugged gently on Merlin's wrist to get him to sit down again, and, however reluctantly, Merlin did sat down again. Taking one last deep breath, Arthur said it. "Merlin I  _like_  you. More than a friend. I guess you probably don't see me like that, but I felt the need for you to know. When I…  _kissed_  you yesterday I let my emotions run its course and not thinking what the aftermath would be. Merlin my feelings for you are genuine, but I would understand if you didn't want to see me again."

Merlin said nothing in return and also didn't tried to make any eye contact, he kept looking at the table they sat on.

After Arthur waited a minute or two for Merlin to react to any of it but got nothing in return, he stood up. "I guess I know your answer then." Arthur softly said and slowly started to walk away. Two of his bodyguards already moving forward to join the Prince in escorting him outside.

When Arthur was almost at the door, his arm was grabbed and he was forcefully spun around, only to feel lips crash against his own in a deep kiss. For a moment, Arthur's eyes widened but then he was beginning to understand the situation and a happy feeling began to fill his whole body and he melted in the kiss. He knew now that Merlin  _did_  feel the same for him as he did about Merlin.

Having to take a much needed oxygen break the two of them parted and Arthur saw the flush evident on Merlin's cheeks and looking to something behind him. As Arthur turned his head he saw all five of his bodyguards; each were deliberately looking in a different direction to have given the Prince some kind of privacy during the personal moment.

Arthur tried to take Merlin's mind of the feeling of being watched and brought his hand to Merlin's cheek, pushing it lightly so Merlin wasn't looking at his guards anymore but would be looking at him instead. And he did, Merlin looked at him and smiled and there was nothing to keep Arthur from returning that smile. He led Merlin to a couch close-by and motioned to his guards to stay put.

Arthur felt giddy and didn't know what to do with his hands, but at the same time he didn't want to overdo it and throw himself onto Merlin, they have only shared a kiss so far. On top of that he had never been in a real relationship, so he wasn't sure what to actually do. Alright he had lots of flings since the age of fifteen, but they basically only existed out of shagging each other. Also he discovered that most of the guys and girls he went out with were just with him because of his title.

He was now nineteen years old and ready for his first serious relationship.

And then Arthur felt a hand slipping into his own hand and he looked down to see Merlin having entwined their fingers and Merlin graced a smile on his lips. Arthur saw that Merlin wanted to say something, but there were just no words coming out, and Arthur would just wait until Merlin was ready to say what he wanted to say. Finally, after what looked like eternity, Merlin spoke but didn't quite make eye contact.

"Arthur, for everything you just said, I feel the same. For some weeks actually." He took a small pause to breathe in deeply and continued with his hand gesturing between the two of them. "But how is this going to work? I mean-"

Merlin couldn't finish what he was about to say because he was interrupted by Arthur. "No, Merlin. I know what you're about to say, but please just don't say it." Arthur turned his body so he faced Merlin, one of his leg bend on the couch the other set down on the ground. "Merlin, I just want to know one thing.  _Why_  is it such a problem to you that I'm… well that I'm royal." He couldn't help himself but to let out a chuckle when he continued. "I mean everyone else wants to be with me just  _because_  of that reason and you must be the only person  _not_  to be with me because of that very same reason. Please, just explain that to me."

Merlin shook his head and withdrew his hand to fold his two hands together. His fingers slightly fidgeting and he kept looking down to his lap. "Arthur, I can't. It's… difficult."

"Then explain." Arthur moved his hands forward to grab Merlin's but Merlin pulled them out of their reach. "I don't know if I can. I don't even know what exactly the reason is." He started to mumble frantically and only stopped when Arthur's hand touched his shoulder. He finally looked up once more to Arthur's concerned and slightly confused look, his eyebrows pinched a little together.

"Hold on, calm down and breathe. What you mean you don't know the reason, reason of what?" Arthur asked, his frown deepening.

"I told you, it's complicated!" Merlin exclaimed, wanting to stand up but Arthur prevented it by gently tugging at his lower arm. Arthur's face was full of concern and that was only making Merlin feel worse about himself. He wanted to understand, to explain, but he didn't had the answer himself. The only thing that was keeping him from fully giving himself to Arthur was his mother, despite her secret he still loved her more than himself. She was and always would be his mother and the woman who was with him every step he took in life.

He knew as much that her secret involved the royal family, but what if it involved Arthur. Would that be the reason that she was so opposed at him spending time with Arthur? He just didn't know. And even if it didn't make sense to him, his mother would be having a good reason to keep her secret for so long. But the one thing he didn't understand is if it involved the royal family, why move to England in the first place  _and_  staying  _so_  long? It didn't made sense.

He knew he had to say something now. He had to give Arthur some kind of explanation even if it would be an irrational one.

And so he began telling about his mother, how she was acting strange ever since the first day that uni started and that he found out that his mother kept  _something_  from him but in some way it involved royalty and because of  _that_  he was acting so weird the last few weeks and that was also why he couldn't make the commitment yet to get into a relationship because there were just too many things going on in his life right now to even think about a serious relationship.

Arthur had nodded and understood. He placed his hand on Merlin's leg and looked him right in the eye. "Merlin, I'm glad you told me. And I'm sorry if it turns out to be my family that has done something to your mother. Is there's any way I could… help?" He tentatively asked and he got a small smile in return from Merlin.

"No, you don't have too." He shifted a little bit closer to Arthur, he lowered his voice to an almost hush and said, "And that I don't want to commit to a relationship, doesn't mean we can't be together." He squeezed Arthur's hand. "As in a trial you could say. A secret perhaps?" He asked almost unsure about whether Arthur even would want that.

He got a squeeze in his own hand in return and Arthur's face was suddenly very close to his own and he felt the warm breath caressing his skin when Arthur breathily answered, "A secret. You and me, I'd like that. For now." He added. He bent even more forward, tentatively, and held a few millimetre of space between their lips. Arthur's eyes searched for some kind of permission in Merlin's if it was okay to kiss him. But Merlin answered by closing the small distance and they shared their first official kiss as a somewhat couple.

**~oOoOo~**

The kiss turned out to be short but sweet and the two teenagers were grinning like fools when they parted. Arthur glanced at the time on his phone and was shocked at how late it already was.

"Merlin, I'm sorry… really you have no idea, but I need to go."

"Oh." Was all Merlin said.

"I'm sorry, I need to have lunch with my parents. Discussing and preparing for some things for the visit of King Balinor of Mercia. You know he's coming to our uni next Tuesday right?" Arthur saw Merlin nod his head, but Merlin didn't commented on it. "Well, I need to be there to greet him, explain things, etcetera." Arthur saw that Merlin rolled his eyes. "Merlin, I know now that you don't exactly love royals right now, but Merlin I swear that Balinor is different. He's not uptight or arrogant as the average royal. I've known him my whole life and I always feel good around him. You'll see."

Merlin shrugged with both shoulders, scrunching his nose. "Indeed, we'll see. And it's not like I need to spend time with him. Will I still see you that day?" He asked.

A smile spread across Arthur's face and he teased, "Missing me already are you?" Arthur playfully shook his head. "Don't worry, this will take an hour, two tops. You'll have me the rest of the day." Arthur glanced again at the time and he was really pushing it. "I'm sorry Merlin I  _really_  need to go." He began to stand up and Merlin stood up with him and placed an hand on his upper arm.

"I know we're keeping it a secret, but I want to tell Will… and Percy." He let his hand slip of Arthur's arm." I've never kept secrets for Will and Percy is now part of our clique so I want him to know too… just so we don't have to be, uhm, awkward around them. I haven't told you this, but they… err… they sort of figured it out all along that you and I, well had... you know." He moved his hands in a twirling motion, hoping that Arthur would understand and he heard Arthur softly snorting so he probably did. "Will told that me when I, ahh… when I told him what happened between us yesterday. I'm sorry, I just needed to tell someone!" Merlin quickly argued, and Arthur chuckled in return.

"Merlin, its fine. Really. Tell them… tell the whole world for all I care." He winked, but took in Merlin's shocked face. Arthur placed both of his hands on Merlin's upper arms. "Merlin I was joking. You decide when you're ready and also when you're ready to come out publically to be my boyfriend. Because Merlin the public will find out one way or another and we're better off by coming forward on our own than that the paparazzi or press will intervene. But that's something we need to discuss another time."

Merlin totally forgot about press, paparazzi and just about being in the public eye all together. But surely all of that would be worth it if he would be together with Arthur.

He suddenly remembered something. He walked the few paces back to the chairs they earlier sat on and bent down to grab his backpack. As he walked back he zipped it open and grabbed the red and white jacket out. He had picked it up from home before he came to the library. He knew his mother wouldn't be home at that time because she would be at work, so there wouldn't be a chance he would run into her, he wasn't in the mood for yet another confrontation.

He held the jacket out in front of him. "You… you forgot this yesterday."

Arthur grabbed it in his hand and held it for a second before he moved behind Merlin and draped the jacket over Merlin's thin shoulders. It was a few sizes too big for him, but Arthur didn't care and neither did Merlin. He bent forward to whisper, "You keep it, you look good in it."

Merlin slightly blushed and Arthur motioned one guard forward.

"Merlin, this is Elyan. He will bring you back home or to wherever you want to go. He won't tell a thing to anyone about what happened here today, so please don't worry about that."

For the last time he looked at the time and he knew he would get into trouble if he would be delayed any longer. A quick peck on Merlin's cheek was all what he did for a quick goodbye. "I'll text you later." He added with a smile and walked away, occasionally glancing over his shoulder.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin asked Elyan to drop him off at home, he felt a bit awkward at suddenly having a bodyguard slash driver. But Elyan made him more at ease, he was friendly and acted casually; using Merlin's name -at Merlin's request- instead of the 'sir' he kept using at first.

When Merlin came home he made sure to hide the jacket… for now. A box under his bed was the perfect hideaway spot. He began to text Will.

 **To: Will**  
11:53  
_Wanna have lunch? Have big news._

**From: Will**  
**11:55**  
_Sure, where?_

**To: Will**  
**11:55**  
_Subway? We could then go to the little playground close to the park or so._

**From: Will**  
**11:56**  
_The playground? We haven't been there since forever.  
_ _You come here then?_

**To: Will**  
**11:57**  
_Yes, on my way._

He sent a quick text to his mum where he would be since she would be home in about fifteen to thirty minutes and walked out the door. Elyan still waiting at the smaller and not so noticeable car compared to the big SUVs Arthur usually sat in. Merlin gave the directions to Will's house.

**~oOoOo~**

Hunith was just putting butter on her sandwiches when the doorbell rang. She had received Merlin's text minutes ago when she was already on her way home and she thought it was maybe Merlin who came back home because he had forgotten his keys once again and had figured that out when he was out. She started to walk towards the front door and opened it with a big smile. "Merlin did you forge-" She stopped midsentence and gasped loudly. Her hands started to shake lightly when she saw the person at the other side of the door. It couldn't be, not now, not ever. How?

"B-Balinor?" She said softly, still not believing that he was actually standing right in front of her. She saw two of what she presumed security guards standing closely behind Balinor.

"Hello… Hunith." Balinor replied in return with a smile.


	7. Hidden Royalty Chapter Seven

Hunith's eyes were wide as saucers. Balinor, the love of her life, the father of her child, was standing right in front of her. After nineteen years he was in her presence and if she would lift her hand she could touch him, feel his heartbeat softly beating beneath the tips of her fingers. She wanted too, but she couldn't. She was frozen as of this moment.

She momentarily lost control of her voice so she only stepped back and held the door open some more, hoping that Balinor would understand the invite. If she was going to talk to him she didn't want the whole neighbourhood to enjoy her outburst which she probably would have.

Luckily for her, Balinor understood and turned for a moment to say something to the two men in black who nodded in response. He then walked into Hunith's house she called home for the past four years. Hunith softly closed the front door behind him and still stood baffled that he was really there.

Balinor looked around the small entrance hall and smiled. Even when she moved into his apartment in the palace, Hunith was always the one for cosy things and her home felt warm and filled with love, just like herself.

Hunith shuffled quietly past him and walked into the sitting room, Balinor soon enough followed and her living room was just as lovely decorated. Hunith was sitting nervously on the couch and looked up to him, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. She stretched a shaking hand out to pat the seat next to her and he took her invite, sitting down next to her.

Hunith was quick to stand up again though. "Tea?" She said, her voice cracking. She couldn't say much more right now and needed a moment to collect herself, making tea was always making her more calm. As soon as Balinor nodded she fled inside the kitchen and braced her arms against the countertop, breathing heavily out. What was she supposed to do now?

She saw the phone and a thought entered her mind. She picked up the phone and dialled the number of her brother. He would know what to do, he was always her guidance in any kind of 'Balinor situation' as she referred too whenever something was about Balinor. She pressed the green button and leaned with her back against the counter, biting the nail of her thumb. It took several dial tones before she finally hear the line connect.

"Hunith?" A groggy voice said from the other line. "What's wrong, it's early Saturday morning. Has something happened?"

Hunith placed a hand on her forehead and softly said, "Oh fuck, sorry. Forgot about the time difference." She heard Lyndsey, JJ's fiancé, on the background asking if everything was alright at which JJ answered he didn't know.

"Hunith what's wrong. I mean you're calling me out of the blue… you're swearing which you just don't do. Seriously has something happened?" JJ couldn't help but to let out a yawn, it was already somewhere around half past seven, but on a Saturday he and his wife usually slept in till late, and at this moment he was still tired.

Hunith busied herself with filling the kettle with water and holding the phone clutched between her ear and shoulder. She had to do something to not lose her mind, but at the same time she knew she had to acknowledge the fact that Balinor was there. She swallowed deeply and said to her brother, "Balinor… he's here. And I mean literally  _here_ , on my sofa. JJ I need you."

"What!" JJ suddenly sounded a lot more awake now. "How?… how did he?… does Merlin?… are you?" JJ kept asking unfinished questions, the fact that Balinor was there shocked him just as much as Hunith did. He took a deep breath to collect himself. "Hunith I'm coming to you. I don't know when the next available flight is, but I'll probably be there somewhere around ten. Hunith don't do anything, don't let him do anything. I'll be there as soon as possible."

Hunith had moved the kettle onto the stove. She kept her voice low and said, "Thank you." She disconnected the line and gingerly put it back onto the base. She blew out a large puff of air. "You can do this." Hunith encouraged herself and started to prepare two mugs of tea and grabbing some biscuits.

It took all her willpower to not drop the tray she carried when she re-entered the sitting room. It wasn't a dream, it was all very real. Balinor was indeed there. She carefully set the mugs down and sat down herself, trying to ignore the fact that Balinor hadn't stopped looking at her ever since she opened the door.

She had her hands placed in her lap and swallowed several times. Until she felt Balinor's hand grab her hand and she felt a familiar motion. Balinor made a heart shaped figure on the back of her hand with the tip of his finger, it was something he always did whenever they were seated next to each other. Her breathing stopped for a moment.

"Y-you remember?" Hunith asked, her voice quivering.

Balinor cupped Hunith's chin with one hand and tilted it upwards so she would look at him. Her eyes showed that she was on the brink of tears. He softly whispered in return, "I never forgot."

As he said it, Hunith let one tear fall from the corner of her eyes which Balinor swiped away with the pad of his thumb. She leaned deeper into his touch; she missed this, she missed the intimacy that they used to share on a daily basis. Her lips parted, her breathing continued to quiver and she leaned forward, gingerly and cautiously. She touched Balinor's lips with her own and closed her eyes. It was a gentle kiss with little pressure, but she hadn't kissed those lips in nineteen years and she didn't know if it would still feel the same.

Hunith drew slowly back and opened her eyes. She felt the spark between them, restarting the burning desires to be with him. The feelings she had for Balinor hadn't gone away and she knew Balinor must've been feeling the same because when she looked at him he had a bright smile covering most of his face, she smiled almost shyly in return.

Balinor gently cradled her face between both his hands and drew her closer again, now crashing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Hunith threw her hands around his neck bringing him closer which was hardly even possible. She missed this, she missed Balinor.

They part after a few moments to breathe and Balinor placed his forehead against Hunith's. "I missed you  _so_  bad." He breathed out, licking his lips. He leaned forward once more and kissed the woman he wanted to kiss for the last nineteen years, but it was broken off by Hunith placing a palm of her hand on his chest and pulling away.

The shock from seeing Balinor again after so many years had slowly started to die down and her brain caught up and made her think sensible yet again. "Balinor, why now? How did you know where I was? Do you know about…" She cut herself off, biting her lip. She almost told Balinor about Merlin, but she knew she couldn't tell him about that. Ever since Merlin was born she tried to keep him out of Balinor's life, well not necessarily Balinor's life, she wanted to keep him out of the life at the Royal Court.

"If I know about… Merlin?" He said, watching how Hunith's eyes widened.

"H-how?" She asked in shock.

Balinor repeatedly shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He said and he looked her in the eye. "What I don't understand is why you never told me. He's  _my_  son, I had the  _right_  to know Hunith!" He was close to tears now, but he breathed in deeply through his nose, a futile attempt to keep his emotions at bay. "Why… why have you never told me I had a son. No,  _why_ have you left me Hunith. Why!"

Hunith pressed her hands in front of her eyes, her shoulders shaking with the tremors that coursed through her body. She knew that Balinor would ask her that, but she didn't want to answer his question. The answer wouldn't be satisfying enough, not clear enough. He wouldn't think that it would be a good enough reason.

She shook her head, refusing to answer the questions Balinor asked.

Balinor kept talking. "He's the Crown Prince of Mercia, heir to the throne. His rightful place is with me, as is yours Hunith." Balinor reached into his pocket and pulled out the Birth Certificate and placed it on Hunith's lap. He took once more a deep breath and calmed himself a little bit at the time. "He's  _our_  son Hunith, he  _should_  know."

Slowly, Hunith pulled her hands away and looked at the document placed in her lap. She had a copy of it securely hidden in the safe in the closet of her bedroom, Merlin didn't even know that there was a safe there. Hunith traced Merlin's name and lifted her head, the piece of paper tightly clutched in her hands. Then she found enough strength within her to tell Balinor the story he's been denied for too long.

"I want you to hear my full story before you will react, please." She watched Balinor nod his head yes and she closed her eyes and started telling.

"When I found out that I was pregnant, I was…  _ecstatic_. I couldn't wait to tell you, but you were at a dinner or something like that with the King of Spain, so I had to wait until you would come back later that evening. I decided to take a stroll through the palace and then came across your parents, which you probably know now if you have read my letter, were not the most kind towards me." Hunith saw that Balinor moved his head downwards, he was indeed aware of his parents' crudeness against her.

"I don't know how, but your mother gave me one look over and she. just. knew. I really don't know how she could've known because I just found out myself moments before, but she just knew that I was pregnant. She and your father cornered me and told me that I would not tell you. When I told her where she could shove her threats, your father dragged me into a nearby room and your mother locked it. She told me that I so much breathed a word about my pregnancy I would regret it… Balinor, they would take my baby!"

Balinor frantically shook his head. "No." He whispered. He couldn't believe that his parents would go that far to drive Hunith away, but he knew in his heart that all Hunith said was nothing but the truth, she had no reason to lie to him. He could still remember the moment he had asked his parents for permission to marry Hunith and they laughed him right in the face, telling him that a commoner was good enough for him, they had shivered just thinking about the possibility about a commoner's heir to the throne of Mercia.

From that day he knew the true nature of his parents and he was shocked and saddened by their close-mindedness.

Hunith hugged her stomach as she continued, she had placed the certificate next to her on the sofa. "I know they were serious about that Balinor, I could see it in their eyes. They told me I could write you a letter but that was it, I couldn't do personal goodbyes. They even checked what I wrote! and looked almost proud when I had written about their rudeness towards me. They said that I was to leave the palace within the hour and your mother said that my suitcases were packed and a car made ready to bring me to the airport as they spoke." Hunith stubbornly wiped a tear away that fell down her cheek. "I was terrified for my life and the life of our unborn child. I couldn't think straight at that moment so I just did what they wanted from me. I felt defeated and everything happened so quickly, and the worst was that I couldn't even say goodbye to you!" Her hands were placed on her eyes again and she started to softly cry.

After a few moments she collected herself enough to continue and with hiccupped breaths she finished her story. "They said they transferred money to my account… hush money, I discovered later." She huffed and wiped away the tear streaks covering her cheek. "I didn't want their money, but I  _needed_  it to raise Merlin. When I found out how much exactly it was, I was shocked but most of all angry. They just thought they could pay me off!" Hunith breathed in deeply. "I had run off to America to my brother JJ where I stayed until after my pregnancy. I thought I was safe there and that I wouldn't see your mother or father  _ever_  again."

Hunith shook her head. "But I was wrong, they had found me, they even  _visited_ me in the hospital. I don't know how they knew that I was in labour, and it doesn't matter anymore. They reminded me that Merlin would live if I kept quiet. Balinor I was  _so_  scared that they would come back again, that they had changed their mind and would take Merlin away from me."

"So I ran and the first thing I did was changing my surname. Over the years I continued to move from country to country every so much time. I kept a small amount of money to myself, enough to let Merlin live comfortably and give him the best education that was out there, and the rest of the money I used to help others."

"When… when I heard about… the accident, I had mixed feelings. At one hand I was relieved, but on the other hand I felt horrible. The fact that I was scared for them, didn't mean that I wanted them dead." Hunith noticed Balinor's hands clench into fists when she started to talk about the car accident that killed his parents and she gingerly reached one of her hands out to press it on top of his. She didn't make eye contact with him, not yet because she knew she wouldn't be able to finish everything she wanted to say.

"At that time, Merlin was already nine, almost ten, and I was torn between whether or not to get in contact with you again. But there had passed several years since I last saw you and the accident was still fresh in the news, it was not the right time."

"And I was selfish. A part of me didn't want to go back, and I didn't want Merlin to get into that life that made my own life so miserable. I know I was wrong, I know that now, but back then I was convinced that that was the best option. I wish I could turn back time and make everything right again, but I can't and now it's too late for us to be together."

Hunith blew out a large breath of air and turned her body slightly to look with a saddened expression at Balinor, who barely said a thing or two during the story. She saw how he sat in shock, staring in front of him. His knees bouncing up and down in a nervous manner and one of his hands repeatedly rubbed his forehead.

"It's not." Balinor mumbled suddenly, raising his head.

Hunith frowned. After all she had said he replied with 'it's not.', she didn't understand what he meant with that. "Balinor?" She said softly, tilting her head towards the man next to her. He looked back at her with an emotion on his face she couldn't exactly make out.

"I said, it's not. Hunith, it's not too late." Balinor moved closer to Hunith and took one of her hands in his own, gently caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. "I'm  _so_  sorry I had to protect you better, to have made you at ease. I can't undo the things my parents –may they rest in peace- have done, but Hunith  _you_  are  _not_  to blame. You did what you thought was best for  _our_  son, even if that meant not letting me know." Balinor casted his eyes down and bit his lower lip. "Of course I'm heartbroken to have missed  _so_ many years of my son's life, and it will take time to overcome that loss, but Hunith I… I forgive you. I love you far too much and I lost you once, I don't want to lose you  _ever_  again."

Balinor drew his arm around her and kept her close in a way he hoped it would be comforting. Hunith had closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against Balinor's shoulder.

To be forgiven about her action was all Hunith could wish for, she thought Balinor would never forgive her for letting him in the dark about their son's existence, but to actually hear from him that he won't hold her responsible, was the greatest news she could hear. She could feel the load that was weighing her down fall off her shoulders and for the first time in years she felt like she could breathe properly again.

"Thank you." She muttered against his arm. "I don't deserve it, but… thank you."

**~oOoOo~**

Some time had passed and Balinor and Hunith's emotions had been mostly let out and were now calmed down and not being so overwhelmed about the fact that the two of them rekindled their love for each other after nineteen years.

Hunith had told him about how she freaked out when she read the article that he was to visit Merlin's university . She told him about the fights that kept occurring between of them because of her secret, but she couldn't tell Merlin that he was of royal blood, she wasn't ready for that revelation yet. And the fights only became worse when she heard that Merlin spent time with Prince Arthur and she was scared that Merlin would end up just like her, casted out because people would think he wasn't someone of royal blood. She knew now how twisted her mind was and that times were drastically changed since the 90's.

Balinor had hugged her tightly while she tried to calm down and he rocked his body slightly to get her sooner calmed down.

When she had control of her emotions again, Hunith finally asked him how he had found her, because she was so utterly careful in not leaving any traces behind and that's when Balinor told her about that moment that was now close to three months ago. How he saw her crossing the street  _and_  that that also the moment was that he had first seen Merlin and he felt it in his guts that Merlin had to be his son. Balinor told her about the private investigator and how he just recently had her and Merlin followed by his security people, at which he blushed at admitting their invasion of privacy, but Hunith laughed at him.

"You haven't changed one bit haven't you Balinor? I can still remember that you had me tailed by security guards when I dated you. I was  _so_  angry at you."

Balinor swallowed deeply. "I remember… you threatened to cut off my privates if I wouldn't stop that nonsense."

Hunith looked self-satisfied with herself and held her chin up before she replied with, "Yes, and I think I should reinstate that one again. It was quite effective." She almost smirked until she saw Balinor shook his head.

"Hunith I would do whatever you want, but times are different now. And especially when the news about Merlin comes out, you need to be protected at all times."

"Balinor-"

"No, Hunith. I won't change my mind about this. Threats are everywhere and I can't risk you, nor Merlin getting hurt. I do everything I can to protect you two, even when you don't like it."

Hunith rubbed her eyes with one hand and leaned her forehead against her other hand. "So what, I'm going to be babysat twenty-four-seven for the rest of my life?" She looked up to see Balinor's reaction, he nodded.

"Basically." He replied timidly.

Hunith sighed deeply at his response, she could've known. If Balinor was only just a regular man without any titles, life would be so much easier and a lot less dramatic. She felt Balinor's hand rubbing circles on her back. "So, we're really… I mean I've never stopped…" Hunith mumbled and trailed off.

Balinor understood what she meant and stopped the rubbing on her back for a moment. "Hunith, I want you by my side and never let you go. We've been separated for the past years, but I still feel the same about you. We can make this work again and properly this time, I will make you truly happy. There will be no advisors or any other people who will be negative about our union, if any the people of Mercia will be delighted. Although they've never explicitly said it out loud, I know they've been afraid what would happen if I were to die. The Le Fey's would be the next heirs in line, but the people would rather see someone from Emrys blood ascend the throne, you know how Mercia is a bit old fashioned in thought that way."

Balinor swiped his tongue over his dry lips. "Hunith you have given them that reassurance and we can only hope that Merlin will see it that way too." Balinor ended with a lowered voice, he truly did hope that his son would embrace his birth right and be the next ruler of Mercia.

Balinor saw Hunith nod and he felt relief flood through his body.

"But when and how are we going to tell Merlin, we can't just tell him out of the blue. He'll explode, I know that already. He can be so impulsive some times, definitely something he inherited from you!" Hunith said in amusement as she pointed her finger to him.

Balinor chuckled lightly about that, he was indeed notorious for his impulsiveness. And it wasn't his best trade so to speak. He then turned more seriously.

"It might not be the best solution, but I'm going to visit his university this Tuesday. Technically I'm not even supposed to be in the UK right now, but I couldn't stop myself, I had to see you." Balinor tenderly cupped his hand against Hunith's jaw and stroked softly the skin of her cheek with his thumb. "But yes, I'll be at his university. I might get to see him."

"Balinor, you can't just walk up to him!"

Balinor shook his head. "No, I know  _that_. But Merlin seems rather close to Prince Arthur and  _I_ know Arthur quite well from previous encounters. I could subtly inquire about what his thoughts are of the university and whether he made friends, he might introduce Merlin? I don't know-"

"Yes, yes." Hunith cut him short. "That might work… might. Merlin is indeed close to Arthur, although I have given him a hard time about it." She admitted softly.

With furrowed brows, Balinor asked, "Why?"

"Because!" Hunith breathed in deeply, getting her emotions under control. "Because I've been hating everything that has to do with royals since I had to leave. I've been wrong, you don't have to tell me."

Balinor placed a hand on her lower arm and smiled softly at her. "No, you had every right. I'm not sure if I would've reacted any differently if I were in your shoes. But Arthur isn't like my family Hunith, you should give him a chance." Balinor contemplated whether or not to tell Hunith that Merlin and Arthur are seemingly closer than she's initially thinking, but he's not hundred per cent sure about that himself and he didn't want to tell Hunith something that might not even been true, so he keeps it to himself for now.

Hunith pursed her lips in a moment of thought but then nodded. "I should." She finally said. "I should be more open towards Arthur in the hope that it will be enough to make things right with Merlin again." A genuine smile spread across her lips and she softly said, "I know we still have to keep secret about this, but I really can't wait for us to become a family."

Balinor nodded and pressed a kiss at her temple. As he tucked one soft curl behind her ear, he whispered, "I can't wait either."

Hunith stood up from the sofa and collected the now empty tea cups. "I think we deserve something a bit stronger than tea now. You know, drown the past and look forward to a new beginning."

Balinor laughed about that and Hunith took that as a yes. She disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and returned a few minutes later with two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. When she set the glasses down on the table she said, "Just one though, it's just meant to be symbolic. Besides you were never the one to hold his liquor that well." She now allowed a smirk to appear as she poured in the drinks and handed him over. "To a new start." She said as she held up her glass.

Balinor smiled brightly as he clanked his glass against hers. "To a new start." Balinor echoed and they both swallowed the drink in one go. Balinor grimaced, whiskey wasn't exactly his go to drink.

As Hunith had set her glass down on the coffee table she turned to face Balinor. "There is however one more thing. JJ is coming. I.. erm… panicked when you showed up here and, ah, I… called him and he's on his way to London as we speak. He's the only one I've ever told about you being Merlin's father, but he had figured it out on his own himself anyway."

Hunith thought Balinor might get angry and held her breath, Balinor and JJ were always a bit against each other. First it was just the big brother act protecting his little sister, but since the moment she confided into him about how Balinor's parents were acting to her it escalated and he held a grudge against Balinor.

He never gave Balinor the reason why he was angry at him because she begged him not to, but it didn't do much to improve the relationship between JJ and Balinor. But even after all these years, JJ kept Balinor responsible for what happened to her.

Balinor only understood the reason of his behaviour after he found the letter.

"Oh." Balinor replied and was quiet for a few seconds. "Well, it was time we would bury the hatched. New beginning right?" He gestured his head towards his glass, wiggling it from left to right to emphasize his point.

Hunith blew out a sigh of relief. That was a better response than what she expected. "And besides," Hunith added. "Three heads think better than two, perhaps he has some ideas on how we can tell Merlin."

Balinor nodded and his eye caught the time at his fancy watch. He sighed deeply. "Hunith, it's getting late already. If we don't want to risk Merlin finding us together I should go now." He pulled a card out the pocket of his blazer and a pen out of inner pocket and scribbled something on the back of the card. He handed Hunith the card. "This is where I stay and you can reach me on this number. I'm only here until tomorrow evening before I go back to Mercia again. I'll be officially coming here Monday." He put the pen back in his pocket.

"I'd like for you… and James, to be joining me for lunch tomorrow." He said as he stood up and buttoned his jacket with skilled finesse.

"I'll ask him." Hunith said as she stood up as well. "But no promises though." She walked Balinor to the door and for the last time of that day he pressed his lips against hers and circled his arms around her waist, she automatically wrapped her hands around his neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Balinor said with a lowered voice and she nodded in response. Balinor opened the door and the two guards Hunith saw earlier came walking from the car towards their King and a third guard circled the car to open the door.

When the car started to drive off, Hunith kept standing in the doorway as long as she could, until she couldn't see the car anymore. She closed the door and leaned against it with one hand over her chest and the brightest smile covering her face. Her whole body tingled, but in a good way and her heart seemed to be racing hundred miles a minute, but she felt great and sincerely happy. She knew it wouldn't be long now before she would be back at the place where she belonged, and now also the place where Merlin belonged; right at Balinor's side.

She kept standing like that for a few minutes before she pushed herself off and started to clean up. She couldn't be leaving traces right now. Hunith hummed the whole time, even when she started the preparations for dinner. Time seemed to fly and before she knew it, dinner was almost ready and she heard the front door opening and shutting.

"Hi mum." Merlin said as he appeared at the kitchen's threshold. "What are we having?"


	8. Hidden Royalty Chapter Eight

Merlin sat on one of the swings at the playground with one foot dragging through the slightly frosted sand beneath, and pushing himself forward and backwards with his other foot. He held a Subway sandwich in his hands and was halfway through with it. Will sat on the swing next to him, but sideways with one leg at each side, his head leaned against the chain. He had already devoured his sandwich within five minutes, but Merlin had always been a slow eater.

"So." Will began. "Why did you send away the security guy your boyfriend gave you."

"He's not my boyfriend." Merlin mumbled. "And he did not  _gave_  Elyan to me, he just said… never mind, point is that I don't need a babysitter."

"Well if you're not boyfriends, which you totally are btw, you are… what? Friends with benefits?"

Merlin almost barked a laugh but softly shook his head at the question. Will knew damn well he was still a virgin, it was one of the main subjects that he used in teasing him, even when Will himself had only had sex twice. Well more like one and a half, the girl fell asleep halfway through one time. Merlin never laughed any harder than he did at that moment when he found out about that.

"It's a bit more complicated I'm afraid, but alright we're as good as in a relationship. It's more like dating I guess, but with more certainty. I don't know, I first have to have my head cleared before I can even  _think_  about a serious relationship." Merlin took a thoughtful bite from the sandwich and continued to rock back and forth, Will also started to gently sway back and forth and being careful to not hit Merlin because of the position he was sitting in on the swing.

Will hummed. "You and your mum still having troubles then?"

Merlin gave a one shoulder shrug in return while trying his best to swallow the bread in his mouth. "Pretty much. I mean she acts ninety-nine per cent of the time like nothing is wrong but then I catch her on the sofa or whatever looking like she's miles away and when I ask her what's wrong she gets, well angry isn't exactly the word I'm looking for… more like frustrated. I wish she wasn't so damn secretive and just told me what was going on, that way there won't be any tension and we can happily continue our life. But  _nooo_  she has to keep stuff from me. I mean  _what_  could be so terrible that it has to be a secret?"

Will blew out a deep sigh. "That's something only your mum can answer I'm afraid. But Merlin, you really should give her some slack."

Merlin opened his mouth to retaliate but Will held up his hand and shook his head.

"No, just hear me out before you start attacking me. What I mean to say is that, if you keep being angry at her whenever you're given the opportunity, chances are that your mother might never tell you what's bothering her. Give her some time and space to let her be, and if you'll be talking to her,  _don't_  immediately ask what's bothering her. Just keep it more casual, I don't know talk about school or whatever."

Merlin not yet snorted. "Oh yeah because that'll lighten up the mood, the moment she hears Arthur's name her face darkens over."

"Well then, why just  _don't_  say it?" Will raised a questionable eyebrow.

"I don't know… it just  _slips_  out before I know it."

"You know what. Do something nice with your mother. Go for a coffee, grab a movie, buy her some flowers."

"That sounds an awful lot like a date if you ask me." Merlin remarked, taking the last bite of his sandwich and scrunching the wrapper up to a ball and put it in his pocket.

Will pulled both shoulders up. "So? It's nice to do something with your mum every once in a while. I occasionally buy mine one of those little cakes. You know my mum and cakes, they're inseparable." Will scrunched up his nose as he continued. "But she's usually a bit leery and questions me about what I've done now." Will shook his head in amusement and threw up his hands. "Am I finally doing something nice, get I scolded at for doing it. I seriously can never do something just because I  _want_  too. Someone is always being suspicious."

"Because you usually  _have_  done something." Merlin remarked with a laugh, but turned more serious as he said, "You know what. I'll think about it, okay? For now I'll try to give her the benefit of the doubt."

Will nodded and decided to change the subject because the mood was dropping slightly and he wanted to have a fun afternoon and not a depressed one. He decided to bring up some memories. "Remember when we bought a few six-packs of beers and came to this very same playground?"

A faint smile started to appear on Merlin's lips. "How could I forget? Well I pretty much did because I can't remember so much actually, most of it is pretty much wiped out. If we have to believe your dad we were well sloshed and I was passed out on the top of the slide while you were spinning around on the caroussel until you threw up." Merlin shook his head. "Had  _the_  worst hangovers the next morning. Never mind the lecture  _I_  got from my  _and_  your mother." Merlin visibly shuddered thinking back. "And all you did was standing there, giggling like the stupid prick you are."

"Yeah but we had fun didn't we?" Will said laughingly as he bumped his fist against Merlin's shoulder.

"Hmm-hm. Although I am  _never_  getting  _that_  drunk again."

"We'll see." Will said almost defiantly. "If I remember correctly your birthday is coming up."

Merlin shrugged. "Yeah, so? It's my nineteenth, nothing special 'bout that."

"We'll see." Will repeated. "We'll see."

**~oOoOo~**

Arthur walked into the room with his head up, topped off with a smile that couldn't get any wider in a way that it was already almost on the brink of splitting his face in two. And to complete his happiness, his eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

Both Ygraine as Uther snuck a glance to each other, both surprised but relieved about their son's sudden turnaround of emotions. They were even more surprised by the fact that Arthur bent down to kiss his mother as well as his father on their cheek before sitting down and commenting, "What a beautiful day isn't it?"

"Well you're certainly more chipper than yesterday." Uther commented lightly.

"How couldn't I? The sun is shining… and it's in the middle of November!" Arthur suddenly turned his attention to his mother. "Oh mum, remember I wanted to invite some friends over?"

"Hmm… yes."

"Can they, well can they come over next weekend?"

Ygraine took a sip of her water before she answered her son. "I can't see why not. But only on Friday or Saturday, not on Sunday, you need to be up early on Monday."

Arthur was trying really hard to resist the urge of signing and eye rolling, and in the end he managed to keep it under his control and mumbled a "Yes mum."

He immediately got his phone out and started to drop a message in the chat group that he made that included Percy, Will and Merlin asking if they want to do a movie night next Saturday, plus they could also stay over for the night if they wanted.

Within the minute he got a reply from Percy that he needed to check with his parents and would reply within the hour. He didn't got an immediate response from Will and Merlin and was getting to quick conclusions again, but he reprimanded himself for that. He had to stop being so paranoid when people wouldn't reply back immediately. Will and Merlin had also something called a life and that life did  _not_  revolve around waiting for Arthur to message them.

He put his phone away when the door opened and their PR-manager Linda entered the room. She was going to tell them  _exactly_  how the day would go when the King of Mercia would come and visit the facility. It was usually the same ol' boring info, but his parents insisted that he was present at the explanation and well there was nothing much he could do to get out of it, so he sat up straight and tried his best to listen to whatever the woman was saying and not letting his mind slip towards thoughts about Merlin.

After an almost two hour long meeting slash lunch Arthur was finally allowed to go away and the first thing he did after saying properly goodbye to Linda and his parents, was taking his phone out of his pocket to see if Merlin, Percy and Will had replied already. He saw two messages. One from Percy saying that he can count on him and the other one was from Merlin saying that Will is with him and that both of them are also coming. Arthur couldn't hide his smile as he read that all of them, but especially Merlin, said yes and he send a message right away that someone would pick them up at eight-ish.

**~oOoOo~**

"Well it seems we're going to stay over at a real palace then." Will said slightly bored as he read the message on his phone when he paused the game that he was playing with Merlin on his PlayStation. They went to Will's house after they were done with their small lunch and spent the last hours in basically the same position, playing games. Currently it was FIFA.

Merlin hummed as he stretched his limbs after sitting crossed legged for the past forty-five minutes. "Well Arthur said it doesn't really feel like some big space because of all the different sections and apartments, but hey at least you can put that on your CV; 'Has slept in Buckingham Palace.' should get us some pointers eh?" Merlin snickered lightly before getting into a more comfortable position again and waiting for Will to resume the game.

Will pressed play. "Now I hardly call that a –oh c'mon you fucker shoot the ball!" Will screamed midsentence at the TV before he continued. "A special skill that I should put on my CV. Now sleeping with the future King of England might be…" Will smirked as he quickly glanced sideways to see his best friend's face getting a beet-red colour.

"I'm just fucking with you Merlin." Will said with a shove at Merlin's arm, causing Merlin to fall over. Will paused the game again as the door opened and Will's mother popped her head around the door.

"C'mon boys, time for a break. Get something to drink downstairs." With that she left again and Will and Merlin soon followed.

**~oOoOo~**

"Well, I'm off." Merlin said a few hours later as he caught how late it was. "I'll text you if you want to do something tomorrow, alright?" Merlin grabbed his trainers and shoved his feet in them, just loosely tying them, and throwing on his jacket. He yelled a bye to Will's mum who was busy in the kitchen prepping food for dinner.

As he opened the door he felt a cold breeze hitting his face. It was certainly colder than that afternoon now the sun was down, so Merlin pulled up his collar and buried his hands in his pockets and began the short journey home. Will's home was just five blocks away, so it was easily in walking distance.

When he was walking he had this strange feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was just like… well he didn't know, like someone watched him, but a quick glance around told him that there wasn't a soul nearby just parked cars. He shook it off for the moment and kept on walking, he still had to go through the dreaded moment of telling his mother that he was going to spend the night at Arthur's.  _Oh well that should be a fun_   _moment_ , he told himself sarcastically.

He rounded the corner and the strange feeling returned to him and he stopped to turn around and caught the sight of a large black car quickly turning into a parking spot and turning of its lights. He frowned for a moment before he breathed in deeply and sighed out loudly. Arthur must've still instructed people to follow him.  _That bloody prick_ , Merlin thought.

He was determined that as soon he got into his room he'd call Arthur and give him a piece of his mind and telling him to stop the nonsense. After all they were sort of together for just  _one_  day,  _not_  a lifetime - even when that sounds really great to him. Anyways, he would be telling Arthur that he really, really doesn't need people that'll be tailing him. He's sure that those people have a far better purpose.

Soon he saw his house appearing in his sight and he started to walk faster, hoping to at least get into the house before the car would be coming too close. Merlin felt far too uncomfortable and started to feel some sympathy for Arthur who basically was being followed around since the day he was born.

Alright, keeping that in mind, Merlin would not go too hard at Arthur, but he would ask… tell him nicely that there's no need to let people follow him.

Merlin nodded his head as if complimenting himself with his plan of action and reached into his pocket for his house keys. As soon as he stepped into the house he was greeted by something that smelled great, but he had no idea what it was. His nose rapidly led him towards the kitchen and he saw his mother, hovering at the furnace and a slight swing in her hips as she softly hummed a tune to herself.

That he was surprised by the sight was an understatement, his mother really seemed happy, like sincerely happy. Something that Merlin hasn't seen his mum being in… well it was too long ago to recall and he was glad that his mum was being in such a great mood, whatever the cause may be to put her in that mood.

He cleared his throat softly when he walked into the kitchen and asked, ""Hi mum. What are we having?"

His mother lifted her head gently and smiled at him, she kept stirring in the pot that Merlin soon found out contained some kind of curry type of thing when he leaned against her back and looked over her shoulder to see what she was stirring. That must've been all the spices he smelt when he entered the house.

"Okay Merlin, can you grab a trivet for me and put it on the table. This is almost ready."

Merlin obediently did what was asked from him, since his stomach was already growling loudly in anticipation to eat all of it, well good as all of it. His mother usually kept some of it to store away in the freezer for whenever Merlin would be home alone and she would be at work.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin didn't told his mother about the Arthur thing just yet, they had such a great evening, the best in quite a while, and Merlin wasn't going to spoil the mood in saying something that he was sure would get his mother riled up. So keeping that in mind he wisely kept shut and enjoyed how the evening went. He and his mother were talking about everything and nothing, and  _he_  even offered to dry up. Hunith joked that she was almost on the verge of calling a doctor when she heard Merlin saying that.

They watched some telly afterwards. Nothing in particular, some detective series on the BBC and when it was half ten Merlin got up from the couch and bent forwards to press a kiss on his mother's cheek.

"I had a lovely time mum, we should try and have more evenings like this." He bit his lip, it sounded so crude saying it out loud, but in return he saw his mother duck her head down and nodded feebly.

Hunith looked up to Merlin again. "We should… I'll try." She stood up and placed her hand against his cheek, her thumb gently stroking the skin underneath and the memory of her brother coming to England, suddenly came in her mind again.

She had tried to call JJ again when Balinor left and telling him that it wasn't necessary to come anymore, that she had everything under control, but the only person she got to talk to was Lyndsey who told her that JJ should be already in the plane. Hunith felt a bit bad for letting her brother sitting on a plane for eight to ten hours for nothing, but then again she would finally see her brother again. It was almost a year ago, the last time he was there was with Merlin's birthday. It would be nice seeing JJ again and catching up with him.

Hunith smiled at that and said to Merlin, "I have a surprise for you tomorrow."

Merlin raised one eyebrow slightly at that. "What kind of?"

"Well you just go to bed and then you'll see it tomorrow, alright?"

Merlin sighed deeply. "Fine. Night mum."

"Good night Merlin."


	9. Hidden Royalty Chapter Nine

Just ten minutes before midnight Hunith heard a soft tapping at her front door, she hoped it would be JJ. It was already some hours that she was expecting him and it became later and later and she started to get worried that something might've happened.

When she walked tiptoed to her door to not wake Merlin up, she heard some grunting coming from just outside. Frowning, she quickened her pace but still tried to be as quite as possible, and opened the front door, only to see her brother grabbed by one man in a black suit who looked quite young. He held JJ arm's twisted behind his back.

She was about to scream but then the man in the suit lifted his head and said, "My lady, I caught this man trying to break in."

That was when Hunith knew that Balinor wasn't joking about having her under surveillance. She shook her head and stepped outside. Hunith closed her thin robe tightly at her throat with one hand to shield off the cold and laid her other hand gently on the guard's arm before she addressed the man. "You may let him go, he's my brother. Didn't the King informed you about him coming?"

Hunith saw the young man's eyes widen and immediately released his tight grip on JJ, head bowed in shame and stammering he said, "My Lady! I didn't know, I will–"

"It's alright." Hunith said softly, cutting the nervous man off. "No harm's done, you were just doing your job. What's your name if I may ask?"

"J-Jonathan, miss."

"Well, Jonathan. You can tell the King that my brother has arrived then."

The guard glanced between Hunith and JJ and gave a small nod with his head and mumbled, "Sorry, sir." towards JJ, who just waved it off.

"Don't mind it. Like Hunith said, no harm's done." JJ looked at Hunith and was already sensing what might've happened when Balinor was there this afternoon, but he'd wait for Hunith's explanation. He'd be finding out soon what exactly had happened between his sister and the King of Mercia.

Jonathan gave one small nod before he walked away. Hunith could hear him talking -probably in some mic, but didn't stand around for too long to hear what he was saying. Instead she ushered JJ inside into the warmth of her house and took the suitcase from him and placed it under the coatrack while JJ made his way into the sitting room.

She soon followed into the sitting room and saw her brother already sitting on the sofa. She sat next to him and asked, voice low, "Are you really alright? You're not hurt?"

JJ stood up and whispered back, "Hunith, I'm fine. I just wish I could've come sooner. First I was held at customs for some reason, but they soon released me, but when I was finally let go my airplane had left already and I needed to wait for the next one and then I found out that the battery of my phone died." JJ took a deep breath. "And when I finally was in the UK, the luggage claim was delayed and then I had trouble getting a taxi… basically everything that could've gone wrong went wrong."

"JJ, relax. Everything is alright." Hunith waited a moment before she continued. "Balinor and I… we've, decided… that… that we're going to tell Merlin. Soon."

"Hunith, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"JJ!" Hunith hissed, still trying to keep her voice as low as possible. "I want nothing more in my life. To be with Balinor and to be a family with him and Merlin, you know that. Why are you being like this?"

"He has hurt you before and I don't want you to go through that again."

"No JJ,  _he_  didn't hurt me. His family did, I can't hold Balinor responsible for that. You know the reason why I've never told Balinor about Merlin."

JJ held his hands up in defence. "Alright. Alright. You know that I will fully support you whatever your decision may be. Even when I think differently. It's your life, not mine."

Hunith stood up and hugged her brother. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

**~oOoOo~**

The next morning when Merlin came downstairs he heard voices from the kitchen, he recognized both voices, but one of them couldn't be the one who he was thinking. Right?

His curiosity took the better of him and he opened the door to the kitchen and found out that his assumption was true. "Uncle JJ!" He not yet yelled with the biggest smile plastered on his face. He quickly walked to his uncle and drew him in a tight hug. When he stepped back, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Ouch little bugger. Do I really need to have a reason to come and visit my favourite nephew?"

Merlin punched his uncle playfully on the arm. "Of course not uncle JJ,. It's just that you hardly visit because you live in the States, you usually only come when it is our birthdays. I'm just surprised that's all. Is Lyndsey here too?"

JJ shook his head. "No, she isn't permitted to fly at this stage of the pregnancy. She wanted me to give you her love though and when your little niece is there she'll hope you'll come and visit us soon."

Merlin sighed deeply. "Yeah, if I'll win the lottery or something. I can't even buy a new laptop and I'm in desperate need for a new one." Merlin replaced the scowl on his forehead to a smile on his face and said, "But hey we can at least Skype when she's finally born, I can't wait to see her!" He drummed his fingers on the counter for a moment. "Are you finally going to tell me which name you picked?" He smiled exaggeratedly and batted his eyelashes in the hope it would work.

His uncle, however, shook his head. A small smirk playing in the corner of his mouth. "That's for us to know and for you to dot, dot, dot."

Merlin's shoulder sagged. "You're not playing fair." He suddenly turned to his mother. "So. I guess this is the surprise you told me about."

Hunith tilted her head slightly sideward. "One of the two." She then jerked her head towards the kitchen table in the far corner of the room. "And that one."

Merlin followed her line of sight and on the table stood a box with a brand new laptop. He turned his head slowly back, mouth slightly ajar and eyes widened. "Really?" He almost whispered.

"Really." His mother told him. "I heard you moaning and complaining that your laptop was, and I quote 'a piece of crap and a rock connects faster than this thing does.'- so I decided to buy you a new one. I was going to give it for your birthday, but I think you'll have more use for it now."

Merlin walked around the counter where his mother stood and hugged her tightly. It was quite the sight, such a tall boy and the smaller woman in a fierce embrace.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Merlin repeated excitingly.

Hunith placed a small kiss on his temple. "So, check it out and install it and all those other technical stuff I don't get."

Hunith didn't had to wait long before her son broke the embrace and not yet ran towards the table to unpack the new present. A smile danced on her face. It felt so good that she could do something for her son that would make him happy. She waited a moment more until she was sure that Merlin was engrossed with the laptop before she walker around the counter and stood beside her brother.

"Are you sure you still want to come with me to Balinor?" Hunith whispered, keeping an eye to Merlin to see if he heard anything, but he was too busy with the laptop that he didn't even look up.

JJ nodded. "If it concerns you and Merlin, I want to be there."

Hunith placed a hand on JJ's arm. "We're expected around half eleven. So we should go soon." Hunith lifted her head. "Merlin." She waited a few seconds to see if her son would react.

"Hmm-mh?" Merlin said in response, not taking his eyes of the screen.

"JJ and I are going somewhere for a few hours, will you be alright?"

Merlin waved a hand up and down behind his back, still not looking up. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Have fun you two."

"There's still some curry in the freezer if you want. Or you can order something for lunch, I'll leave a tenner on the counter." She couldn't help herself and walked towards her son to kiss him on his hair and it made Merlin stop a moment from his activity to turn in his chair and look up to his mother. Hunith continued, "We'll be back around three."

Merlin smiled up to her and said, "Alright mum. And… thanks for…" He gestured with a flick of his hand towards the laptop.

"You're welcome sweetheart."

**~oOoOo~**

After about forty-five minutes of mucking about and installing programs on his new laptop, and transferring some files from his old laptop to his new one, he thought about what to do next. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was nearly twelve o'clock now, and even though it was lunch time, he didn't feel hungry. Yet.

He decided to spend his time wisely and went online to his school account to see what he had to do for school this week. His schedule was not all too busy for the upcoming week, except the damn History assignment that was due on Thursday. He would rather have it finished as soon as possible, hopefully Arthur would be able to come today.

He decided to try it and fished his phone out of his pocket.

 **To: Arthur**  
11:03  
_Mum's not home for hours. Want to come over here so we can work on History assign. that's due on Thursday?_

 **From: Arthur**  
11:09  
_Fine by me, you sure you want me there?_

 **To: Arthur**  
11:10  
_Def.  
__Don't forget to bring your notes._

 **From: Arthur**  
11:10  
_I'll be there in 20._

Good, now he would be able to work at the assignment and fingers crossed it would be finished today. Now he just needed to fill in those twenty minutes waiting for Arthur. First he texted Will that he wouldn't be able to do something today because of said assignment.

And instead of something useful, Merlin spent his time lying in front of the TV. Unfortunately there was balls on the TV and ended up flipping channels for twenty minutes. As soon he heard the doorbell ring, he bolted off the sofa and opened the door to see Arthur standing there, alone.

Merlin acted surprised. "Hm! All alone, no security?" He saw Arthur's face twist and quickly reassured his… boyfriend? He beckoned Arthur. "I'm just messing with you. Come in, come in."

Arthur swept his feet politely at the doormat again and placed his shoes neatly next to each other and hung his coat on the rack. He saw Merlin's shoes scattered in the small hallway. One trainer close to the front door, while the other was almost in the sitting room. He picked the two shoes up and placed them neatly next to each other. He needs to give Merlin a few tips on how to be tidy.

Merlin had quirked an eyebrow to the action, but chose to ignore it and grabbed Arthur's wrist instead and almost dragged him into the kitchen. When he stood next to the kitchen table he held both hands out and a bright smile plastered on his face. "Look! Now I don't need to borrow yours anymore."

Arthur bent over to closely inspect the new laptop. "Nice one. Although I'm going to miss sharing with you." He winked quickly and sat down on a free chair. He pulled out his own laptop from his bag and started it up, Merlin took the seat in front of his new laptop. While Arthur waited he asked, "So I guess you finally saved enough money to buy it?"

Merlin shook his head. "Nope. Mum bought it. Although it was actually for my birthday, but she gave it now because of that piece of crap won't do shit anymore."

"Your… mother? So everything is going okay with the two of you again?"

Merlin shrugged. "Sort of, we're trying at least. She still hasn't told me anything, but I'll give her some space for now."

"Oh and before I forget." Merlin said after a beat of silence. "Arthur Philip Henry Pendragon. Yeah searched  _that_  on Wikipedia. I thought I explicitly told you that I didn't need any security guards. So why do you still having me followed?"

Arthur cringes at hearing his full name –hated it with a passion- but there was still one name that Merlin forgot and he's thinking about correcting him or not. First he wanted to know what Merlin was talking about.

"What do you mean ' _still have me followed'_? When you send Elyan away I got the message, you didn't want this. So I stopped letting you followed."

"But  _why_  was there a big black car following me then?"

Arthur shrugged. "Maybe you're imagining things. Couldn't it be just a car heading the same direction as you?"

"Driving at walking speed? I don't think so."

"Well look out the window and see if you still see the car." Arthur suggested.

Merlin stood up from the chair and walked to the sitting room to look out of the window. He didn't saw the car now, nor anything else that seemed suspicious. With a frown on his face he walked back to the kitchen and sat back down with his arms crossed in front of him. "You're right, nothing's there, yours just drove away by the way. But the one I saw was a different model anyways. I'm sure it was just coincidence then."

Arthur nodded and now that Merlin seemed to be more relaxed, he decided to tell Merlin the missing name. "By the way… you forgot Nicholas."

"What?" Merlin replied with one eyebrow raising.

"I  _said_  you forgot Nicholas. See, I  _told_  you that Wikipedia isn't trustworthy. My full name is; Arthur Nicholas Philip Henry Pendragon. Ugh I seriously hate all those names, why in the hell does a person need that many anyways?"

Merlin scrunched his nose. "Well, you're not the only one bearing that burden to be honest. I got four as well. And one of them doesn't even make sense to me!"

"Really, four?" Arthur said with both eyebrows raised. "So what is your full name?"

Merlin replied by repeatedly shaking his head. "I don't wanna. It's stupid."

"Oh c'mon tell me yours. You know mine, it's only fair."

Merlin breathed in and sighed deeply out. "Fine. But don't laugh!"

Arthur made a cross sign on his chest where his heart is with his index finger and then brought his hand up to figuratively lock his lips.

Merlin sighed again. "Alright. It's Merlin Linor Edward James Browne. There I said it, now you know. Can we focus on History now?"

Arthur furrowed his brows. "Linor?" He looked positively confused. " _Never_  heard  _that_  name before."

"Told you it didn't made sense." Merlin remarked, while searching for the right page on his computer that explained the assignment. He heard Arthur typing next to him and he assumed that he was doing the same. At least he thought Arthur was until he heard soft snorting next to him. Merlin turned his head to see what was so funny and his eye caught the page Arthur was staring at.

In big bold letters was the name Linor, beneath it was the gender and the meaning of the name. Merlin groaned when he read it and knew exactly why Arthur laughed. "Oh god no. It's a… a  _girl's_  name!" Merlin threw his hands up. "Well of course it's a girl's name, it's  _me_  we're talking about!" He placed his head into his hands and mumbled, "Life cannot give me a break."

"Yeah, but look at the  _bright_  side." Arthur laughed out loud now.

"Ha ha, very funny. You're just saying that because it means 'Bright One'. Oh Arthur you're,  _hilarious_."

"Alright, alright I'll stop… and if it's any consolation, my parents almost gave  _me_  a girl's name."

"Really? What was it?"

Arthur scrunched his nose. "M'not sure if I should tell."

"Oh come on, just to me!"

Arthur bit his lower lip and then heaved a sigh. "Okay, but swear on your life you won't tell further." When Arthur saw Merlin put two fingers up, he said it. "It was… Andrea. There I said it. Thank god that the Prince of Monaco was already named that way and my parents settled on Arthur."

Merlin bumped his elbow against Arthur's upper arm and squeezed his lips tightly together in an effort to keep his laughter in. "Well in my opinion you would be a great Andrea… no, Andy." That was the last drop for Merlin to double over in a fit of laughter and Arthur just rolled his eyes, waiting for Merlin to finish. It took almost a full minute for Merlin to regain some control again, but was still lightly wheezing from laughing too hard and long.

Arthur looked at Merlin with a cocked eyebrow. "Are you quite done?" He asked.

Merlin swiped a hand across his forehead and wiped the tears away that fell during his laughter. "Wuh. Can't remember the last time I laughed  _that_  hard. And yes, I'm quite done… for now."

Arthur pointed one finger at him and in a low warning tone he said, "You promised."

Merlin batted the hand away. "Yeah, yeah. I won't tell a soul." He rubbed his hands together. "So, History shall we?"

"Fine… Linor."

Merlin just glared back.

**~oOoOo~**

The clock just changed to 1:04 pm and Merlin sat back in his chair with a sigh. "I call for a break." He said with his arm thrown over his eyes. "Never have I seen such a stupid assignment. I mean come one, what is the point in exploring and researching the motives to almost  _every_  war in four Western European countries of choice, that happened between the eighteen hundreds till now.  _Excluding_  Great-Britain, because apparently Alined didn't think it was fair with you being the bla bla bla."

Arthur clapped Merlin softly on his back. "N'aww, we're almost there. Just two more countries, Spain and Mercia."

Merlin sat up straight again. "Well can't you just ask that King of Mercia to write  _that_  part of our essay, seeing that he's coming Tuesday, best take advantage of that. I mean all he does is sitting at a desk with his fat belly and grey hairs and golden crown on top of his head." Merlin crossed his hands in front of his chest and looked up to Arthur who looked back to him with a crooked eyebrow.

"Is that what you think we do?" He said, snickering. "And do you even  _know_  what the King of Mercia looks like?"

Merlin shrugged in response. "No, and quite frankly I don't care. I could care less that he's coming at all, what  _is_  the point."

Arthur held up his shoulders. "Beats me. Anyways, I'm hungry, shall we order something?"

"Now  _that's_  a great idea. See you're good for something after all. "Merlin teased and received a light shove against his arm from Arthur. He snickered and stood up. "I'll just have to get this leaflet from my room. You stay here, I'll be back in a tick."

Merlin bolted out the kitchen and up the stairs. He ruffled through some stuff on his desk and mumbled to himself. "I could've sworn it was here last time I needed it." His head shoot up and he turned around when he heard a voice.

Arthur.

Arthur casually leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed in front of his chest. "So  _this_  is Merlin Linor something something's room."

"Arthur! You were supposed to stay downstairs."

Arthur decided to ignore the reprimand made towards him and pushed himself off the doorframe to walk further into the room, his finger brushing against some books on a bookshelf and then bent down to pick up one of the many t-shirts lying around. "Could do with some cleaning up though."

"Hey!" Merlin yanked the shirt out of Arthur's hand. "My room, my rules, my mess." He turned around again to sift through the papers on his desk. When he heard rummaging behind him he turned around again. Arthur was busy trying to clear some stuff up.

"Hey!" Merlin said again. "Are you… are you,  _cleaning_?"

"I'm sorry!" Arthur exclaimed. "I have this OCD thing, I just like some tidiness alright. How can you even live in this mess!"

Merlin scoffed. "I prefer it to be called organized chaos."

"That is not any better though." Arthur shook his head. "You and I will clear up this mess. I can't watch this any longer or I'll go crazy."

"Well…" Merlin started with his hands on his hips. "Just look away then."

Arthur stared back with narrowed eyes.

Merlin did the same.

It didn't took long though because within fifteen seconds both of them started to laugh and giggle.

"Okay, fine. I'll clean this up… later. That alright with you?"

Arthur scrunched his nose up for a moment before shrugging. "I… guess. It's better than nothing, just make sure it's tidier when I come over again."

Merlin's eyebrows rose and he slowly stepped forward until he stood closely to Arthur. One of his hands travelled lightly up at Arthur's side until it rested up his chest. With a low voice he asked, "Oh? You're planning in coming over more often?"

Before Arthur could respond back, both his and Merlin's eyes widened when they heard the door opening and seconds later Hunith's voice, yelling, "Merlin, we're home!"

**~oOoOo~**

JJ and Hunith walked up the little path leading up to Hunith's house. Before Hunith drew her key in the lock her brother gently grabbed her hand and stopping her for a moment. "Okay sis, you know Arthur's in there, so be calm and make him feel welcome."

Hunith sighed. When they were at Balinor's flat that he had in London for the times he just wanted to be away from everything, a guard came in and informed Balinor that Arthur was at Hunith's house. Since Hunith was sitting in the same room as Balinor, she heard it as well and she willed herself to calm down. Balinor also showed her the pictures that he had gathered over the weeks and Hunith had seen with her own eyes how Merlin and Arthur looked at each other on the pictures, especially the pictures how one is looking at the other when the other has his head turned away.

She had guessed it already, but just didn't want to believe it. She had seen the signs. Merlin grinning at his phone when he got a message, the slight blush appearing.

But everything would be alright now, there was no need to afraid that Merlin would end up just like her. Balinor had convinced her about that.

JJ continued when his sister didn't reply. "The question is simple. Do you want to see Merlin happy or miserable?"

"Of course I want him to be happy. But I had this habit at having a grudge against everything that was regal for nineteen years, I can't just drop it overnight." Hunith breathed deeply in through her nose. "But you're right. I'll try, I'll have to."

JJ jerked his head down in a small nod. "Now remember, we'll be telling Merlin about his heritage at the start of his school's Winter break, not sooner. That way he has about two weeks without any other distractions to thoroughly think about the fact that he's a Prince." JJ watched how his sister slowly nodded. "Now, we know that he has caught the sight of the SUV yesterday, but Balinor told the security to keep even more distant now. Hopefully Merlin will just forget that he has even seen it."

Hunith nodded once more and turned the key around and opened the door and yelled. "Merlin, we're home!"

**~oOoOo~**

"Oh no, mum's early. What do we do!" Merlin ran to his window and opened it. "Here climb out of… oh fuck no, your stuff's downstairs." Merlin started to pace up and down in his small room, a hand on his forehead.

Arthur took a few steps forward and grabbed Merlin at the shoulders, making him stop his pacing and making him look into his eyes. "Merlin, calm down and  _breathe_. We'll just go downstairs."

Merlin eyes widened even more and wanted to object but Arthur silenced him by continuing.

"We'll go downstairs and I'll just introduce myself and then we'll see how it goes. Alright?" Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Don't be so scared, it'll be fine." Arthur whispered, pulling up the hand and pecking a quick kiss on his knuckles.

"Okay?" Arthur asked to be sure.

Merlin shook his head. "No, but let's get this over with."

Merlin slowly descended the stairs and kept his hand tightly in Arthur's. He heard voices coming out of the kitchen and he breathed deeply in one last time before opening the door and stepping inside, pulling Arthur with him. The talking between his mother and uncle stopped and they both seemed not too surprised in seeing Arthur there.

Merlin swallowed into his dry throat. "Mum, uncle JJ. This is Arthur."

As the polite Prince he was raised to be, Arthur stepped forward and put his hand out. "Nice to finally meet you Miss Browne. I've heard a lot about you." Arthur didn't say that most of what he heard about Hunith was negative, and he didn't let it hear in his tone of voice either.

After a small nudge against her arm from JJ, Hunith stretched her hand out as well and gripped Arthur's. "I've… heard some things about you as well." Hunith managed to mumble and let go of Arthur's hand.

The silence that fell started to become somewhat uncomfortable and so Arthur said, "Maybe… I should go."

"No, stay." Hunith said, almost immediately and it made Merlin almost having to take a double look at his mother. Hunith ignored her son's surprised expression. "Tea everyone?" She asked instead, with a slightly strained smile and already started to put water in the kettle.


	10. Hidden Royalty Chapter Ten

Merlin's heavy footfalls on the stairs could be heard throughout the whole house as he thundered downstairs. It was Monday and he was ready for the new week. He felt great and happy and just… unf, in complete bliss.

And it may or may not be because of the fact that his mother had not only accepted Arthur for the amazing person he is, she also didn't made any fuss about the fact that he was of royal blood. Not once during his whole stay his mother had mentioned it and it made Merlin feel full of pride. It was a bit weird to him at first and he kept fidgeting his hands, almost waiting for the moment his mother would stop her charade, but the moment never came. He only really calmed down when Arthur had gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly as if offering some kind of reassurance that everything was alright.

He dropped his schoolbag close to the door and picked up his trainers from the ground and opened the door to the kitchen where he heard some soft talking coming from the small TV that hung on the wall, close to the counter. Merlin almost had to take a double look when he saw which channel his mother and uncle were watching. It was the BBC coverage of the Mercian's King's arrival to England. Even though his mother accepted Arthur, for now, he didn't expect her to actually start watching news again that  _included_  royals.

After overcoming his initial shock, he called out a "Morning." and received a chorus of mornings from his uncle and mother back. Merlin dropped his shoes next to the breakfast bar and dived into the cabinets in search of food and in the end grabbed a piece of toast his mother had made and smeared it with some jam. He glanced once again at the TV screen and saw Arthur dressed in a sharp formfitting suit and a coat that reminded him an awful lot about the one Sherlock wears in the BBC show Sherlock.

Arthur stood lined up at a red carpet with his mother and father on each side of him, waiting for the plane that transported the foreign King. It wasn't there yet but reporters said it would arrive within the next ten minutes.

Merlin looked at the clock. "Oh shit, gonna be late at school." He put the toast in his mouth and shoved his feet into his shoes. He tried to tie his laces as best as he could while hopping from one foot to another and trying as hard as he could to  _not_  bite down on the sandwich, which would surely fall on the ground if he would.

"Language dear." Hunith reprimanded, but instead of looking directly at her son, she kept her eyes plastered on the screen. She waited in anticipation for when Balinor would land.

"See you this afternoon." Merlin yelled over his shoulder as he exited the room and a moment later Hunith and JJ heard the front door slam close.

Not yet five minutes after her son left, the picture on the TV screen showed the royal airplane coming in sight and swiftly landing on the private airfield. The small staircase was lowered and photographers from press and paparazzi alike hoarded closer and closer, as far as the security allowed them.

Moments later Balinor appeared in the door opening and Hunith noticed again how he used his political smile and couldn't help herself to let a small smile appear on her own face. It were these silly little things that she still remembered about Balinor even after all those years from being apart.

**~oOoOo~**

Will waited for Merlin on the corner of the street where he waited every morning when he started at the same time as his friend. He saw Merlin coming towards him and pushed himself off the wall he leaned against.

"Hey." Merlin said, and started to walk the same road he had done for the past weeks. Will falling in step besides him.

"Hey." Will replied. "So… tell me. How was it?" Will received some vague text yesterday, that gave a quick explanation from Merlin that Arthur was there and his mum was cool about it. That was about all he got from his friend and he was curious to the outcome, but decided to ask Merlin about it when they would be face-to-face.

Merlin closed the zipper of his jacket all the way until his collar and pushed his hands into his pockets. It started to get really cold nowadays. He turned his head to look at his friend and smiled. "Better than I hoped it to be! I thought that World War Three would happen, but not at all. She even made  _tea_. Tea! For someone royal. I seriously thought I needed to get my eyes and ears checked, but no, everything was working fine. I mean, she didn't even made  _you_  tea the first time you came round, it took like four visits."

Will chuckled at the memory. "But… that's good isn't it? Not just the hearing and stuff, but that she's acting normal against Arthur. The way things are going at this rate, it shouldn't be long before your face is plastered all over the gossip mags quoting 'The Prince's New Boy Toy'."

Merlin shoved Will so hard, Will had to take a step to the right if he didn't want to fall down. He couldn't help that he burst out laughing when he saw Merlin's face, it had the already becoming familiar beet red colour of shame. "Don't be daft." Merlin mentioned as he shoved his hand back into the pocket of his jacket.

"It's gonna happen, trust me, it will. And then I'm going to buy a copy and put your pic on my wall. How's that?" Will didn't dare to look sideways, because he knew he would get some kind of death glare from his best friend, he wisely kept staring in front of him and already saw the school gates appearing in his sight.

**~oOoOo~**

"Look who it is!" Will said, his voice loud when Arthur walked into the cafeteria. "The prodigal son has returned. What took you so long?" Merlin turned his head and smiled as his boyfriend came towards them. He noticed that Arthur had ditched the suit and now changed back into normal clothes, well as normal as someone royal could get.

Arthur pulled the chair back and sat heavily down. "Ugh you know, posing for pictures, taking a step forward, posing again, and so on and on and on. It took us close to thirty minutes to even get off the carpet and out of the freezing cold weather." His eyes flicked up to Merlin. "Hey you."

"Oh god no." Will moaned. "Now they're sort of out as a couple  _we_  have to see and hear all that mushy stuff." He pointed between himself and Percy who sat there sniffling and trying not to choke in his drink.

Percy swallowed the liquid. "Oh let them Will. It's their honeymoon period after all."

"It must be." Will commented with a nod of his head. "I mean look at them, they aren't even aware that we're talking about them."

Will and Percy turned their heads to look at the couple in love. Merlin and Arthur seemed indeed unaware to their surroundings. They weren't holding hands or anything remotely close to that, but the way they looked at each other told everything. They only broke their gaze towards each other when Will as well as Percy waved their hands in front of their faces and they parted with an awkward cough.

"That's better." Percy said, trying to hide a smirk.

The unmistakeable whistle ringtone was heard by the four people and Will and Percy were the ones who looked back and forth between Merlin and Arthur determining which phone was the one who did the ringing. They saw Merlin reach into his pocket and pulled his phone out.

"Hey mum." Merlin said as he accepted the call. "Yeah I can do that.  _Ye-es_  I have enough money with me." He rolled his eyes. "Okay see you later." He punched the end call button and pushed his phone back into his pocket. He shrugged. "Have to go to the shop after school for mum."

He looked up and saw Arthur's pointed look.

"What?" Merlin asked with a slightly pitched voice.

"You know what I'm going to say. One of us has to change his ringtone."

Merlin quirked one eyebrow up and leaned forward over the table. "Oh and I suppose that that  _one_  is going to be me, isn't it?"

"Well that  _would_  be convenient."

"Pfft. Who do you think you are, the King?"

"Well no. I'm his son, Arthur."

"Oh so  _now_  you're using your birth right you so much hate to use. Na-ah, not going to happen Pendragon."

"Fine!" Arthur said.

"Fine." Merlin repeated, sitting back against the backrest.

Will stretched his arm out towards Percival. "Oh my god Percy we just witnessed the couple's first official fight. Oh hold me."

Percy chuckled and gave answer to Will's dramatics by grabbing Will's arm into his hand.

The four of them didn't spoke for a few minutes but ate their lunch instead with Percy and Will sneaking mischievious glances to eachother.

Merlin saw that lunch would be almost over and he knew that they all had separated classes for the last three hours, so Merlin decided to bring up the topic of the History assignment to Arthur.

"Arthur, about tomorrow. When do you think you'll be ready with that nonsense? We still need to finish our assignment that's due  _this Thursday_!"

"I can't help it that I have to be there!"

"Well no offense, okay maybe a little bit offense, but you lot weren't hatched out of a fucking diamond or something. Why all the fuss  _just_  because one royal is visiting. I mean  _you_ are here  _every day_  and I don't see the red carpet rolled out every time you enter or exit the school. It's just… ugh… it's so overreacting."

"Merlin…"

"No leave it. Whatever. Text me when you're ready with that and then come and meet me in the library, where  _I'll_  be working already." With that said, Merlin stood up and grabbed his bag from the table.

Arthur frowned slightly about Merlin's sudden change around. Had he done something wrong? He doesn't believe so, but he could see on Merlin's face before he left that the said person  _wasn't_  int the mood to discuss the matter and so with a heavy heart leaves Merlin to be for the moment.

That night Arthur got a text from Merlin.

 **From: Merlin**  
**11:42 pm**  
_I'm sorry for the way I acted this morning. I'm a bit stressed because of assign._  
_Am I forgiven?  
_ _x_

Arthur smiled at the little x at the end of the message, it wasn't as much as an 'I love you' but it was close enough _._

 **To: Merlin**  
**11:44 pm**  
_You are. And I'm sorry, it was my fault we started this late with it.  
_ _ILY._

He felt bold using the three letters, but that were his feelings and he had the right to express them and for Merlin to hear, well read them.

With a smile on his face he fell asleep. And when he woke up the next morning he saw a message from Merlin that was sent after he went to sleep.

**From: Merlin**  
**0:24 am**  
_love u 2_

**~oOoOo~**

**The next morning.**

Hunith was feeling slightly nervous this morning. Today would be the day that Merlin would meet his father -even though he had no idea what part the man had in his life, for now at least. Besides that, Balinor would meet his son and she felt guilty that it had taken almost nineteen years for that moment to arrive.

Because of that, today would be the one of the most special days in Balinor's life and she hoped with all her heart that nothing would go wrong. She felt the need to pace, but stopped herself from doing it and instead sipped her coffee silently, in contrary to the usual tea she took in the mornings. She felt the need for something a bit stronger and herbal tea just wouldn't cut it.

JJ sat next to his sister and nursed a coffee as well. They heard Merlin shuffling around upstairs and expected him to be downstairs any moment now. They both knew that had to keep acting like they normally would and hoping that Merlin wouldn't noticed the nerves they both felt.

Just like yesterday they heard Merlin thundering down the stairs and walking into the kitchen with his trainers in hand and telling them good morning.

Merlin searched the cabinets for bread or cereal, he wasn't sure what he was in the mood for that morning. He settled on a piece of bread with peanut butter and not yet shoved it into his mouth before putting on his shoes and dashing out the kitchen. All this in under five minutes.

Hunith sent out a text to Balinor that Merlin had left to go to school.

**~oOoOo~**

"Oh Jesus!" Will exclaimed after seeing the immense large crowd that had gathered around the school gates entrance. There were press, paparazzi and just random people who were curious to see the Mercian King and of course the British Prince.

They elbowed their way through the crowd. Will went up front and Merlin followed, he knew Will was far more persistent and could be plain rude if he wanted to. 'Excuse me.' 'Students here.' 'Out of the way.' 'Fuck off' and 'Coming through.' were just a small summary of the statements Will used to get through the crowd and these were just the random people, now came the lines of photographers.

Will began his expressions again, but he as well as Merlin stopped when they heard some guy who stood just a few feet away from them, a photo camera in hand, shouting; "It's Will O'Leary and Merlin Browne, close friends of the Prince!"

The whole section of people with video and photo cameras turned to them and started to snap away and started to yell questions that Merlin didn't really understood because no one waited for their turn and just yelled as they pleased. All the flashing in his face was overwhelming and he started to shield the flashings off with his arms, but it did nothing to the pushiness of the people around them. He felt pent-up and when he did a quick look around, he didn't saw Will anymore. He felt alone even when he was surrounded by people and couldn't move forwards or backwards. And at that moment he almost felt the need for cry for no apparent reason.

But then Merlin was grabbed by his arm and pulled forward through the crowd and through the entrance of the gate at which the press and paparazzi couldn't get behind because it was private property. The person pulled Merlin a bit further down the schoolyard so he would be out of the press' sight. Merlin finally felt that he could breathe again and only now looked to his side to see who the person was that saved him from the crowd. It was a man, a big man at that, dressed in an all-black attire and when he looked up to the man's face, he noticed the clear earpiece in his ear. That's when it clicked in his head, this must be one of Arthur's security people.

"T-thank you." Merlin finally stammered out and then felt a hand on his shoulder and two familiar faces came into view.

It were Percy and Will.

"Merlin are you alright?" Will asked, some concern laced throughout his voice. "Damn those people are  _crazy_. Percy had the same as well when he arrived and people recognized him."

Merlin nodded. "I am now, thanks to…" He looked up to the man and waited for the man to say his name, but instead Percy answered it.

"Tom? What are you doing here?"

Will and Merlin looked at each other and then looked back at Percy. "Tom?" They both asked with a surprising tone.

Percy nodded repeatedly. "He's my brother." Percy said with a sense of pride.

"Brother." Merlin repeated slowly and looked up to his rescuer, he could indeed see the resemblances between him and Percy now he concentrated. He looked back at Percy. "Why haven't you said that your brother was one of the Pendragon's security guards? Does Arthur even know you're family of one of his guards?"

"Arthur?" Percy questioned, eyebrow raising. "No, no, you must understand this wrong. Tom isn't working for the Pendragons, he's working for the royal family of Mercia."

"Really now." Will said, crossing his arms. "But can't only people from Mercia become guards for the Mercian royal family? Or at least so I've read once."

Percy shrugged. "Yeah. But then again he… well  _we_  are. We're born and raised in Mercia, but then me, my little sister and my parents moved to England like eight years ago. Tom stayed behind because of his job… and well me being Mercian isn't really something you bring up casually in a conversation." Percy shook his head in amusement.

Will turned to Tom and narrowed his eyes. "So if you're Mercian security why are you even here? The King hasn't arrived yet."

All this while, Tom hadn't replied to any of what was being said. It wasn't his place, nor assignment. His assignment was protecting the Prince and that was exactly what he was doing.

But now he had to play the next part well and don't raise any suspicion. He stood straight and replied to Will's question. "I saw the two of you caught up in the middle of the crowd and you both seemed to have difficulties in getting out, so me and a fellow guard moved from our position. As to why we're here is because we have to make sure the surroundings are clear from any danger before the King's arrival." Tom lied easily.

He heard his earpiece crackle with new information and brought his finger up to his ear. He nodded at the message that was inaudible for the three standing around them. He looked at all three of them and kept his gaze at Percy first. "Well little brother, as much as I like hanging out with you, I have a duty to perform." He turned to look at Will and Merlin and his eyes lingered a little longer on Merlin. "It was nice meeting you."

He almost slipped up by adding _your highness_ , but he could suck that bit in at the last second.

He walked away and when he was sure he was out of hearing distance he said in his mic. "The Prince has been brought to safety."

**~oOoOo~**

Cheering, yelling and shouting could be heard when the first car arrived and Arthur got out. He was dressed smartly again, but not  _as_  fancy as the clothing he wore yesterday. He waved politely at the crowd and his security people were already pushing the invading press and paparazzi back to create a path for their Prince. The car he sat in drove off, only for another one to appear, this one had the Mercian flags at the front of the car.

The door opened and Balinor got out with grace, sophistication and confidence. He smiled to the crowd and joined Arthur's side to pose for some pictures. Arthur put out his hand and Balinor shook it and holding it a tad longer for photographers to capture the moment. It was procedure for them, nothing more than following the rules or royal etiquette.

Mercian guards mingled with English and both parties tried to give both royals a smooth and swift entry towards the school's entrance. They kept their eyes wide open, on the lookout for any potential threat.

Arthur and Balinor slowly made their way to the school's entrance and leaving the shouting crowd behind them who still continued to yell questions towards them. Some were standard questions, while others were personal. Neither royal elaborated much at the questions being asked.

When they were both finally inside and the doors closed behind them they sighed. "I always dread that part the most." Balinor admitted. Arthur nodded in response. "So do I, so. do. I."

They ignored the long line of people waiting to be introduced to the Mercian King for a moment as Balinor said. "It's been a while since we've last seen each other, hasn't it? I believe almost a year."

"Yes, it was three weeks before Christmas, sir."

Balinor placed a hand on Arthur's upper arm. "Oh what have I said about that. Drop the sir, I feel so old already!" He joked and in return Arthur smiled mischievously back. Arthur turned his body and held his arm out to the people who waited.

"Shall I introduce you then?"

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin sat in the school's library, he had texted Arthur a million time but the prat was just ignoring him. Visiting King or not, they had an assignment to finish!

He started to angrily type on his laptop, with the book about Mercia he used to copy the information out standing upright on the table. He was so engrossed with getting the assignment finished as soon as possible, that he didn't hear anyone approaching. He nearly jumped off his chair by the sudden voice.

"Interesting book you're reading there… oh sorry, didn't want to scare you."

Merlin looked up to the person standing just a few feet away from him. He guessed the man was in his late forties, maybe early fifties judging by the greying hair. He seemed friendly enough and he was dressed in a suit. Perhaps he was one of the new teachers he hadn't seen before, Merlin reasoned to himself. After all they were always dressed in suits.

Merlin tilted the book back to see which one he was reading again and saw that it was the book about Mercia. He shrugged. "It's alright, I have to use' it for just some History assignment, no big deal. Although my partner has left me to finish it all on my own, the prat."

Balinor swallowed heavily, he was at loss for words right now. He wasn't even supposed to walk up to Merlin, like he had somewhat promised Hunith, but when he had strayed off with the excuse of going to the toilets he couldn't help himself and went to the library as where his security said Merlin would be. And now he was in the presence of his son, the one he discovered he had just a few months ago. It was such an overwhelming experience and he was close to tears, but he kept them in. Bursting out in tears in front of his son wouldn't be the best first impression to give.

He clasped his hands nervously in front of him. What was he supposed to do now! His saw his son staring at him with his head slightly tilted to the right. Balinor breathed in, he could do this.

"Maybe I could help? I know a few things about Mercia." Balinor could smack himself over the head, what a stupid thing to suggest. He bowed his head in a shame like fashion but tilted it up ever so slightly when he heard a chuckle.

His son was smiling, and it was such a beautiful sight. He clearly inherited his mother's smile. Merlin then shook his head.

"Kind of you to offer sir, but I don't think school would approve of it."

Balinor heaved his shoulders up. "Well at least I offered."

"That you did." Merlin said, smiling again.

Balinor couldn't resist and put out his hand for Merlin to shake. He wanted to touch his son, feel his warmth. "It was nice to meet you…" He let some silence drop for Merlin to fill in the dots. He couldn't let Merlin know he already knew his name, he needed to be convincing.

"Merlin." Merlin said in response and grabbed the man's hand. "Merlin Browne."

Merlin didn't saw the small flicker of anger going over Balinor's face. Balinor was still not happy hearing that fake last name, but just like before, he couldn't let Merlin find out about that. Balinor drew his hand back, but didn't say his own name. He looked around for a moment, trying to find a way to easily get away before the situation would become  _too_  awkward. He asked, "I'm a bit unfamiliar with this building. Could you maybe point directions to the main hall?" He knew exactly which way it was too the main hall, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

 _Definitely a new teacher_ , Merlin confirmed to himself. "Sure, it's through those door and down the stairs and then follow the hallway."

"Thank you Merlin. And good luck with your assignment."

He turned around before Merlin could even reply and as he walked out of the library he couldn't help but let the fingers of his other hand travel over the hand Merlin shook. He soon felt a presence besides him, it was Lancelot.

"If I may, sir." Lancelot waited a moment until he saw the King nod his head. "I think that went rather well, all things considered."

"Well, I suppose it could've gone worse." Balinor replied to his most trusted guard. He breathed in deeply. "I should go back to Arthur and the principal, I've been gone long enough."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin was almost through with the part about Mercian history when he  _finally_  got a text from Arthur. He read the text shook his head irritably.

When he sent a text to Arthur to come to the library, Arthur didn't even respond, nor came to the library and now Arthur sent  _him_  a text to come to the lobby and he was supposed to come pronto. He was so close in just ignoring Arthur, but he had been in the library for close to two hours and he started to get sick and tired of the place and he was in desperate need for some leg stretching.

He stood up and took the two stairs down and walked towards the lobby area. He frowned slightly when he saw the same man he met in the library not yet an hour ago, standing next to Arthur and talking to him. They were swarmed by men and women alike in black suits, but that wasn't even the strangest to Merlin. It was the fact that the man seemed so relaxed talking to Arthur. From what he'd seen in the few interviews he watched of Arthur on TV, he noticed how all people talking to Arthur seemed rather tensed, but not this person.

Merlin mentally shook his head, when did he become so concerned about people's postures?

He came closer and the people in black made way for him. He now saw that Will and Percy also stood in the protective circle of guards. He felt a bit overwhelmed and smiled shyly.

"Ahh, this is the person I spoke about." Arthur said as he gestured Merlin to come closer. When Merlin was close enough, Arthur grabbed him by the arm. "This is Merlin. Merlin, meet King Balinor."

Merlin's eyes not yet budged out of their sockets and a deep red blush appeared on his cheeks. That man wasn't  _just_  a man, but some royal. The same royal he hadn't been speaking highly of in the last few days, and today  _he_  talked to that royal without even realizing that it was a King!

But what struck him the most, was that he didn't even mind talking to the King, if anything he felt rather good talking to the man, how brief their encounter may have been.

When he spend a bit more attention to the guards that flanked the King, he noticed that they were almost looking the same as Arthur's but not yet quite. Arthur's security wore an all a white dress shirt, while the men next to that man all wore black dress shirts.

He saw Percy's brother also standing around the King,  _Tom was it?_

He was brought out of his concentration by hearing the man… no the King talking. "Oh yes, we've had the pleasure of meeting each other before."

"You have?" Arthur wondered, his voice holding a surprising tone.

"Yes. When I've been to the restroom earlier, I took a wrong turn and ended up in the library." Balinor was almost amazed with himself how easily the lie left his mouth. "Merlin here was kind enough to give me directions."

"It was nothing." Merlin timidly said, his head bowed down a bit and a silence fell over the group.

Luckily Arthur was there to break the short awkward silence and grabbed Merlin's hand. He squeezed it softly and whispered in Merlin's ear, "Balinor wanted to know who my friends were, hope you're not mad."

Merlin shook his head.

Balinor had to muster all his willpower to not keep staring at his son, it might cause suspicion and that was something he didn't wanted at this moment. He smiled although with a hint of sadness as he stated, "Unfortunally my time has come to an end here and I have to go back again. It was so nice to meet all of you."

He shook hands with everyone, keeping Merlin for last and then with some difficulty turned around and walked out of the door. He denied the urge he felt to look back and kept walking forward in a fast pace. As his security opened the doors and he neared the gates, he already heard the reporters enquiring about his thoughts about the university.

When he had been through the process again of being photographed by the press, he finally found himself in the sanctuary of the car and he heaved out a sigh. The first thing he did when the car drove off was pulling out his phone and calling Hunith.

Inside, Merlin, Arthur, Percy and Will still stood at the same spot.

"I liked him." Will said with a raised chin.

Percy nodded in agreement. "Me too. Although I was a bit scared of  _actually_  meeting him. I mean, I heard some things about him from my brother but I've never dared to believe that I would actually meet the King of my country one day." Percy admitted. "No offense Arthur." He quickly added.

Arthur shook his head. "None taken. But the one opion I'm most curious about is Merlin's. So Merlin, your thoughts?" Arthur asked, almost scared for Merlin's reaction.

"He was…" Merlin thought for a moment. "Not what I expected." He settled on in the end. He heard Arthur breathe a laugh and Merlin gave him a soft shove for it at his arm. "Don't laugh." Merlin reprimanded.

"I'm sorry! " Arthur said. "But you, your answer… that was  _not_  what  _I_ expected you to say."

"Hey! I'm not  _that_  bad. And I was polite to him, wasn't I?"

Merlin sighed dramatically.

"Well if you must know, I actually think he's quite nice. I mean when he was in the library,  _he_  even offered to help me with the History assignment which  _you_  were MIA to. Keeping that in mind, I think I have a new favourite royal."

Arthur opened his mouth in an 'O' and feigned being hurt by placing one hand over his chest. "You take that back!"

Merlin tilted his chin up and pursed his lips, making it look like he was thinking about it. "Hmmm…."

Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm again and pulled him flush against his side and whispered low in Merlin's ear, "I don't think the King would do  _this_  to you." He wrapped one arm around Merlin's waist, knowing that the guards who stood around would shield it off as much. He resisted the urge to kiss Merlin because he knew that his guards wouldn't be able to block that out and he also knew that Merlin wasn't ready for a public outing yet and he would respect that.

"Get a room you two." Percy and Will said in a happy chorus.


	11. Hidden Royalty Chapter Eleven

At Friday morning the sky was looking grim and grey and while it reached the point of freezing, snow still hadn't fallen yet. Will looked up to the sky as he and Merlin walked onto the school yard and heard Merlin complaining about Arthur, about how he had barely handed their assignment in on time.

Will looked down again. "Well speak of the devil." He said with a nod of his head. Arthur had just been dropped off and was now walking towards the duo. Merlin breathed deeply in and didn't turn around until he felt an arm being draped around his neck and shoulders with Arthur leaning rather heavily on him.

"Hey." Arthur greeted with a big smile.

Merlin looked sideways to see a grinning Arthur, but Merlin only glared.

Arthur slipped his arm of Merlin's shoulders and crossed them in front of his chest. "Okay what have I done  _now_. I told you I was sorry about the History project, but I handed it in on time haven't I?"

"Yeah at 11:52 pm  _last night_." Merlin snapped.

"So?" Arthur shrugged. "Assignment was due at midnight."

Merlin threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I…. just never mind. Let's get inside."

When they started walking, Will went to walk at Arthur's side and leaned a bit closer. "I think he's still a bit upset by what happened on Monday." Will whispered in Arthur's ear.

"Hey I heard that!" Merlin scolded. "I'm not. I'm over it. Those people with their cameras just caught me off guard, okay?"

"Yeah, luckily there was an  _on_  guard." Will sniffled, couldn't help himself but to laugh at his own joke. Merlin narrowed his eyes to him and stomped off in a faster pace.

"Oh Merlin! Come on, I was joking."

Arthur clapped Will on his shoulder. "I think you went a bit too far with him this time." Arthur opened the door of the Chemistry classroom to see Merlin already sitting at the workbench. Elbow put on the table top and chin propped on his hand. Arthur walked up to him, his hand sliding over Merlin's back before he took the seat next to him. A few classmates at the bench behind them snickered at the move, they were already becoming familiar with the light touches Arthur left here and there, but were kindly asked  _not_  to talk about it to anyone, especially not the press and they had respected that.

"I'm sorry, what can I do to make it up to you?" Arthur whispered.

Merlin sighed and turned on his stool to face Arthur. "Well, you could at least  _try_  to be a bit more serious with schoolwork. Not all of us can be privileged enough to just take a backseat because they will know exactly what will happen to them in their future. Some of us really have to prove ourselves and I just hope that you will respect that."

Arthur seemed to think Merlin's words over for a moment and then nodded slowly. "I'm going to put more effort into my schoolwork and especially when I have an assignment with a partner. You're right, I was a bit idle, but I'm going to put in hundred per cent from now on."

"That's all I ask, Arthur. And you know how I feel about the Chemistry assignments, or do I need to show the contract again?" He patted his Chemistry book and bit his lip to not laugh.

Arthur groaned and put his head in his hands. "Oh god no, I almost forgot about that thing."

"You might, but I certainly not… oh hey there's Percy."

Arthur turned around to see Percy not yet running into the classroom, he was red in the face and breathing a bit too fast. He walked up to them, saying a quick "Morning guys." before taking a seat and exhaling deeply. He took a minute to regain breath.

"I thought I was going to be late, I almost were." He glanced to the clock and shook his head. "My alarm didn't go off this morning and you know Monmouth's attitude to latecomers. And I can't afford to skip a lesson."

He hadn't finished his sentence yet or the said man walked in with his briefcase. "Settle down people, quiet." He placed his briefcase on his workbench and popped it open, taking his laptop and some papers out. As he snapped his briefcase close he looked around the class. "As you can see before you on the benches there are four flasks with each having a substance on it. Two are with an A and two with a B. We are going to be researching chemical reactions today."

Merlin eyed the four flasks with interest while Arthur looked positively confused. He had  _some_  knowledge about chemicals, but certainly not enough. He started to pay attention again when the professor continued.

"You'll be working with the partner you've been assigned too. One of you will be doing the experiment, while the other will be writing down what happens and then switch places. Are there any questions so far?" Monmouth took a quick look around but saw no one raising their hand. "No? The explanation of the assignment in on your benches, you'll have fifteen minutes to do the practicum and write a small essay about what's happening."

Arthur slid the paper over to him and read it quickly over. He looked at Merlin. "Basically mix A with B, but it specifies to do it very,  _very_ slowly. Shall I start?"

Merlin shrugged and picked up a paper notebook and a pen and went to stand on the other side of the bench, opposite of Arthur. He watched as Arthur picked up the flask marked with the letter A and brought the opening to the opening of the flask marked with the B. Very concentrated he let the content slowly trickle into the flask but there wasn't happening much apart from some bubbling.

"So you're still coming tomorrow?" Arthur briefly looked up to look at Merlin who nodded his head.

"Mum is surprisingly okay with it. We're first going to bring uncle JJ to the airport, but I should be home on time for the car to pick me up."

Arthur nodded and continued with the experiment.

"Well that was less exiting that I hoped it to be." Arthur commented when he poured the whole contents of A into B and not much had happened.

"Well maybe that's what it was supposed to do." Merlin replied." Now move, it's my turn."

"Uh, dominant are we?" Arthur waggled his eyebrows as he swapped places and went now to stand behind the workbench. Merlin just shook his head in amusement and picked up the two other flasks off the workbench and placed them in front of him, studying them a bit. Arthur snorted lightly on how serious Merlin's face looked, but said nothing about it and just let him do his thing.

Arthur began to shuffle on his spot at the same time Merlin picked up flask A. "So, I just wanted to know if…" Arthur said, stammering with each word.

"Yeees?" Merlin said, not looking up to Arthur as he concentrated very hard on not letting the substance pour out too quickly.

Arthur swallowed into his dry throat. "If you want to spend a weekend during Winter break with me, in Switzerland… in my private holiday home… alone."

Out of shock, Merlin tipped the flask onto its side in one motion and the liquid flowed into flask B. Merlin looked wide eyed up to Arthur and as he did so, he didn't see what was happening to the flask. A cloud like foam started to rise up from the flask and overflowed it. Merlin didn't noticed it at first, too shocked yet of what Arthur just asked him

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, grabbing the flask out of Merlin's hand and putting it on the table top. He pulled Merlin to the side and he watched how the foam slowly started to cease and reducing in size to where it was almost completely back into the flask again. He heard the professor talking again.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, happens when you don't have patience. This was the sole purpose for this experiment and it seems that Mister Browne has failed that part. You youth are always in a hurry, but patience is important in the art of chemistry…" Professor Monmouth rambled on about the subject but Merlin didn't listen to it, he had only eye for Arthur.

He cocked his head and some look between confusion and shock was the expression he held onto his face. Arthur just asked him to spend a weekend alone, in another country. He couldn't be serious! It was too soon, not that Merlin was entirely putting it off immediately. It was just that he did  _not_  expected Arthur to propose something like that.

He hadn't said a word in almost four minutes, so Arthur shook his head and looked down. "Sorry. Never mind." He mumbled. "Just forget that I asked." Arthur walked out of class.

"Mister Pendragon." Monmouth said sternly, but was ignored.

Soon Merlin followed Arthur out of the class.

"Mister Browne!" Monmouth yelled, but was once again ignored.

"Arthur, wait!" Merlin yelled, running through the hallway and trying to catch up with Arthur, but the said person was way faster than Merlin and soon disappeared out of sight as he rounded a corner. Merlin thought he could never reach him in time and slowed his pace but kept on walking anyway. When he rounded the corner Arthur went past, he came to a sudden stop.

Instead of what he thought Arthur had done; running away even further, he now saw Arthur sitting cross-legged on the ground with his back against the wall. Head down and his hands in his lap, fidgeting. There was already one of his bodyguards approaching, but Merlin shook his head to him and even though the guard stopped for a moment to contemplate what was the best option, he opted on turning around to leave Arthur and Merlin on their own.

Merlin slid down the wall and placed a hand on Arthur's arm, making him stop the fidgeting and making him look sideways to Merlin.

" _I'm_  the one who has to say sorry." Merlin began. "But you kinda overwhelmed with me by suddenly asking that-"

"I know. I wasn't thinking." Arthur interrupted with a sigh. "I was actually going to ask it tomorrow, but it… it just suddenly came out. I mean, I asked my parents already and they approved, but if you don't-"

"Well I never actually said yes or no didn't I?" Merlin said, this time interrupting Arthur and Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly. "Arthur… I'd love to spent time with you." Merlin started to smile. "I still have to clear it up with mum and such, but yes. I'd love too."

Arthur breathed a laugh and leaned forward to kiss Merlin, but drew back as he was reminded of Merlin not actually wanting to do too much in public. Merlin however saw what Arthur was intended to do and looked one way and then the other way and when he was satisfied that no one was close by, he grabbed Arthur's neck and pulled him forward in a crushing kiss. Smiling when he drew back again.

**~oOoOo~**

Arthur and Merlin didn't go back to class after that but went into the cafeteria since they had a free period after and texted Percy and Will with the question if they wanted to bring their bags with them. They would explain themselves later to the professor but neither of them were in the mood to do that now.

Five minutes after that lesson should've ended, Will and Percy came into the cafeteria with both two bags around their shoulders. They dumped Merlin and Arthur's on the table.

"So, are you two going to explain what that was about?"

Merlin looked at Arthur and Arthur looked at Merlin, both having a smile playing in the corners of their mouth. They looked back to their friends when Merlin gave a nod to Arthur.

"Merlin and I will spend a weekend together in Winter break, in Switzerland…  _if_  everything is arranged with his mother of course." Arthur added quickly.

Will's eyebrows had shot up. "Wow… that's quite something. You two aren't taking it slow are you." He said with a soft chuckle.

"Well…" Merlin said with a shrug. "Life's too short to stand by and wait for stuff too happen. And I love skiing and snowboarding and I love Arthur, so in my eyes it's a win-win situation."

Percy as well as Will made a fake retching motion. "Can you two  _be_  any more slimy." Will said laughingly.

"And as long as you bring us a souvenir, We forgive you for not asking us to go with you too." Percy said with a wink.

**~oOoOo~**

**The next day.**

Merlin opened the door to the sitting room and saw his mum and uncle sitting in front of the TV watching some TV show Merlin forgot the name of at that moment. "Hey mum, uncle JJ." He plopped down next to his mother. He got a meagre response of heys back.

"Did you finished packing an overnight bag?" Hunith asked.

"Yep. It's on my bed. And you're absolutely sure that you're still okay with me staying over at Arthur's?" Merlin looked sideways to see his mother nod. He then looked at his uncle.

"Too bad you're already going back uncle JJ, it was such a short visit."

"I know little bugger, but Lyndsey is almost going into labour so I knew I couldn't stay for too long. But it was fun to be here, even as short as it was." It wasn't entirely untrue, his wife  _was_  close to giving birth. And now he had talked with Balinor and was assured that Balinor only wanted the best for Merlin and Hunith, he had told his sister that he would go back to the States again for a little while.

He wanted Balinor and Hunith to have time for themselves after all these years and to have some sort of privacy when they would be finally telling Merlin about his heritage. He'd be coming back just a few weeks after, for his nephew's birthday and what he hopes to be the moment that he will be crowned Prince, but he has to wait for what will happen during the Winter break.

Merlin tilted his head to the side. "But you'll be back for my birthday aren't you?"

"Of course! Probably with the Missus and our baby girl."

"I can't wait!" He said with excitement in his voice. "…I will finally have a cousin." He added in a lower voice.

"That's not true." Hunith commented. "You have lots of cousins."

"Yeah, but they're like first or second cousins. This one will be my, whatever it's called, full cousin. Or my dad has to have some sibling who has offspring flying around… I know, I know, we don't talk about him, whoever my father might be. Just calm down mum and don't let that vein in your head pop. I don't even  _want_ to know who he is." Merlin said with his voice carrying sign of slightly annoyance, his mother always tensed up whenever he would mention something about his father, even how rarely that happened. He turned his head and pretended to be watching TV.

Hunith had tensed up when Merlin brought up his father out of the blue and snuck a glance to JJ, both looking slightly worried, but neither could comment on it so they just stayed silent and let the moment pass. Hunith breathed deeply in and coughed awkwardly before standing up from the couch.

"If we don't go to the airport now, you'll be probably miss your flight."

"Oh… right." JJ nodded, getting to what his sister wanted. He stood up from the couch and turned off the TV. "Well, let's go then."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin and his mum had dropped off JJ at the airport and waved him off when the point came they couldn't get any further. They decided to stay for a coffee before driving back home. Merlin was now looking out of the car window, watching how the city passed by.

"Hm!" Merlin turned his head to his mother. "It seems that it's finally snowing."

"Well hopefully the road stays clear of it until we're home. I don't like driving with snow."

Merlin perked up in his seat. "Well, then could I drive?" He asked hopeful but his mother shook her head.

"Na-ah, not after that stunt you pulled."

Merlin sighed and dramatically dropped his shoulders. "But mu-um, that was like seven months ago. I said I was sorry!"

"Well sorry didn't pay off the damage on the bumper, did it?"

"I said I'd pay you back." Merlin muttered and moved his head back to watch out of the window again. Soon the familiar part of the city came into sight and he looked at the clock. 7:15 it read, so they were right on time before the car Arthur would send would pick him up. He grabbed his mobile out of his pocket to his best abilities because the seatbelt managed to make it harder for him, and he texted Arthur.

 **To: Arthur**  
7:16 pm  
_so what does the great prat have in mind for this evening?_

 **From: Arthur**  
7:18 pm  
_you're hurting my feelings Merls. But first an AHS marathon of course, and then well pizza and then whatever.  
__Maybe take a dive in the pool after?_

 **To: Arthur**  
7:18 pm  
_exhilarating_

 **From: Arthur**  
7:20 pm  
_using big words now?_

 **To: Arthur**  
7:21 pm  
_Perhaps_

 **From: Arthur**  
7:22 pm  
_well can you at least use 2 big words, this becomes a bit monotonous_

 **To: Arthur**  
7:23 pm  
_now who's using big words, but good of you to mention, will pack my trunks  
__you should text Will and Percy about it too_

 **From: Arthur**  
7:25 pm  
_fine, will do. Car should be there in about 30 mins.  
__Home yet?_

 **To: Arthur**  
7:26 pm  
_About to pull up at the driveway._  
_See you soon  
__x_

And indeed at 7:54 pm a black SUV pulled up at the kerb and Hunith yelled from down the stairs, "Car's here!"

Merlin's footfalls thudded on the stairs as he came down with his overnight bag in his hand. He stopped in front of his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "Will you be alright on your own?" He asked, concerned.

Hunith laughed and slapped him playfully on his arm. "What do you think, I'll finally have the house for myself for once. Now go, don't let the poor driver wait." She embraced her son one last time. She might have told Merlin a small lie and that's about not being on her own tonight. Balinor would come, he was 'officially' going back to Mercia last Thursday, but he  _secretly_  came back this morning again. So far the press or paparazzi haven't caught up with it and Hunith hoped that would be the case too when he would come at her place.

"Alright then." Merlin said as he let go of his mother and opened the front door. "Have a fun evening mum."

It would be a fun evening for her indeed.

**~oOoOo~**

"Mister Browne?" A voice spoke when Merlin walked towards the black car.

Merlin not yet jumped by the sudden voice, but did snap his head to the left to see who had said it. A man in black walked from around the car and towards the car door. He opened it and Merlin could see Will and Percy already sitting in the back. Merlin nodded to the man.

"Yeah, but please call me Merlin."

"As you want." The man said with a nod of his head. "I'm agent Leon Cavalier, Head Security of the Prince's protection, and I'll be escorting you to the palace."

 _Formal much?_  Merlin thought, but instead of saying it out loud he just nodded once more and got into the car at which Leon closed the door and soon enough drove off.

The trio looked in awe as they neared the palace, of course they've seen it before, multiple times in fact, but never up this close. Leon didn't drove through the main gates, but instead steered the vehicle towards an entrance further down the road and somewhere at the side of the massive building. There was a short security check before the boom barriers opened and Leon drove further down the premises until they neared a covered passage that reminded the trio a lot of a parking garage. But a way nicer and fancier parking garage that is. They stopped closely to a door.

"We're here." Leon said from the front seat and slipped out to open the backdoors.

"Thanks." Merlin mumbled, not knowing what else there is to say. When he turned to get out of the car he saw a glimpse of the man's gun and it made him gulp slightly. Of course he knew that security guards were carrying those, but seeing one for real and up close made him a bit more sweaty. But when he looked up to the guard his worries were soon out of the window as he saw the man's friendly face and knew that that man wasn't going to hurt him.

"If you just want to follow me." Leon instructed.

They walked with their bags in hand through some impressive hallways, decorated with marble and art hanging on the wall. Not that Merlin was an expert in art, but he recognized some names of world famous painters.

They stopped when they reached elevators and Will bounced on his feet. "Elevators!" He said excitingly and Merlin and Percy had to clamp their mouths shut to not laugh out loud right that moment. Merlin glanced up to the security guard and saw that even  _he_  had to recompose himself after letting a smile appear.

Soon the doors pinged open and Will went in first. "Oh my god there's even a little sofa thingy in here!" He draped himself on the sofa, feet up and eyes closed. Until Percy prodded at his legs with his fingers.

"Right Will, acting normal is a bit hard for you isn't it. Get your feet off it, you Neanderthal."

Will flapped his hands up and down and stood up. "Alright, alright. No need to be so violent." Merlin just rolled his eyes and waited for the lift to reach its destination. When the doors pinged open a second time they stepped out in a room that somewhat resembled a movie theatre.

The trio's eyes feasted on the big space that seemed to include a popcorn machine, a soft drink station, an open cabinet that probably held every kind of candy known to mankind and of course the large screen with a few rows of comfy looking chairs placed in front of it. The room was illuminated in a soft light that made the atmosphere look like a real movie experience.

Will just went to test one of the seats, ignoring Arthur all together at first who appeared moments after, and it looked like Percy and Merlin hadn't noticed him being there either. Leon did however and stepped to the side and gave a short jerk with his head to acknowledge Arthur.

"So." Arthur said, making the two persons standing in front of him jump slightly and who directly turned to him. "You like it?"

"Like it?!" Will yelled from his place. "I freaking  _love_  it!"

Arthur just shook his head in amusement.

"It's amazing Arthur." Percy said, a little more reserved than the way Will acted.

"Yes it is." Merlin added. "Never seen something like this in my life. Must be nice to have it."

Arthur ducked his head slightly. He never  _really_  liked to brag about the riches and comforts he had at his disposal. But he was glad to have it, because he loved to entertain people, and certainly people who liked him for being him instead of His Royal Highness. As he looked down he noticed Merlin's jeans, they were tight but not yet skinny. It did however extenuate some parts that Arthur shouldn't be thinking about and he quickly shook his head and looked away, thanking his luck for the slight darkness of the room that would hopefully hide his small blush that he felt spreading across his face.

He cleared his throat. "You can just dump your bags in here and then we can start watching." He turned to Leon. "Thank you Leon." Leon nodded and sent a small wink to Arthur when he knew that no one was looking, he knew how important this evening, and certainly being with Merlin, was for Arthur. He had to listen Arthur talking about it for the entire week. He closed the doors and now Arthur was alone with the people he considered his best friends.

"So, which series of AHS shall we watch?" Arthur asked already having a tablet in hand that Merlin found out was the remote for the screen. He received a chorus of 'I don't mind' back and then flicked through the programs on the screen until he found what he was looking for.

"We'll just start at one then, and see how far we will go." He placed the tablet down on one of the chairs. "Just pick a chair and then I'll get something to drink."

"I'll help." Merlin offered, but Arthur shook his head.

"Naah, just sit down, you're my guests after all."

"Don't be a prat, I offered, just let me."

Arthur chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Fine."

They returned to the seating section with a tray with drinks and popcorn and saw Percy and Will had taken a seat on the row of chair in front of the very last row of chairs. Will turned and waggled his eyebrows as he extended his hand to grab two glasses of drinks. "We thought to give you two lovebirds some privacy." He turned to give Percy the glasses before turning back and grabbing a bowl of popcorn.

"Will." Merlin hissed, then he turned to Arthur and laughing nervously. But Arthur just stepped closer and balanced the tray on his hand and drew Merlin closer to him by sneaking his other arm around Merlin's waist.

"Ugh, can't you two wait doing  _that_  until the show starts?" Will teased.

"Fine, fine." Arthur set down the tray and picked up the tablet once more. He pressed the first episode and the episode started to play. Arthur dragged Merlin down onto a chair and were just in time to see the creepy 'Murder House' with Abby standing in front of it, appear on the screen.

**~oOoOo~**

After having watched six episodes and having ate a bucket of popcorn plus almost a whole pizza per person which came later, the four friends were having enough of just sitting around and watching the screen. Arthur and Merlin didn't do much during the episodes except holding hands, they were still experimenting to see what they liked and also didn't want to do  _too_  much while there were other people around.

Percy stretched his arms above his head and cracked his back while Will moved his head from side to side.

"So I guess we're done watching." Arthur chuckled. "You guys up for a swim?"

"This late?" Will said.

"Why not?" Arthur answered. "It's really relaxing. Come on, don't be spoil."

"Yeah Will." Merlin said and Percy nodding, already standing up from the chair.

They picked up their bags from the door only needed to walk through two doors before coming into what seemed like a changing room with a few stalls. Arthur pointed to a pile of towels and everyone took one and didn't take long to change. Arthur was already leaning against the wall, wearing a red knee length trunks and a towel thrown lazily around his neck and was now waiting for his friends to be ready.

Merlin was first to get out of the stall with a black swimming trunks that was just above the knee and a white vertical stripes on the sides, Arthur swallowed when he saw Merlin. He knew Merlin wasn't the biggest guy, but he didn't expect him to have so many defined muscles. Merlin smirked and walked up to him, his fingers softly caressing Arthur's skin. He whispered, "Didn't your mother told you that staring is impolite?" He stepped back when he heard the two other stall doors opened.

Will as well as Percy knew what was going on and just rolled their eyes. Their trunks were similar to the one Merlin was wearing. Arthur jerked his head to the side. "This way guys." He opened a glass door that lead to the indoor pool. It was a regular pool, the same like you would find in a public swimming pool, plus having a bonus which was a whirlpool at the far end of the pool.

"Nice." Will said and dumped his towel on one of the lounge chairs at the side before sprinting to the pool and cannon ball his way into it. When he came up again he sighed and let himself float. "I could get used to this." He closed his eyes and let himself float some more. Percy looked up to Arthur and smirked, Arthur gave an encouraging nod as he knew what Percy was about to do. Percy ran towards the pool and jumped in, closely landing to Will who started to splutter.

"You twat! I could've drowned." They started to have a water fight.

"Sigh, sometimes they're just kids." Merlin said dramatically, but took Arthur's hand and soon enough all four of them were in the pool and were doing races or just some swimming.

Percy and Will had climbed out to sit in the whirlpool, leaving Merlin and Arthur alone in the big pool. Arthur was leaning his back against the side, his elbows resting on edge of the pool and his legs softly moving back and forth to keep himself afloat. Merlin was facing him, their foreheads touching and his body pushed up against Arthur's, his hands placed on the edge of the pool at either side of Arthur's head and his legs wrapped around Arthur's waist.

"Well  _I_  can certainly get used to  _this_." Arthur whispered he brought one hand from the border to leave light touches at Merlin's side. Merlin hummed contently. "But not when we have onlookers." Arthur nodded to the two grinning fools in the whirlpool. Merlin turned his head and shook it.

Merlin noticed the time by the led clock on the wall. "It's almost 1:30 am, maybe we should go to bed… Not like  _that_." Merlin added at Arthur's raised eyebrows and hopeful look. He pushed himself off Arthur and instead of using the small stairs, he pushed himself up with his arms that he placed on the edge of the pool.

They took a quick shower that were placed next to the pool area to wash away some of the chlorine before drying off and dressing. Arthur walked out and pushed the button of another elevator which seemed to be spread out through the entire building.

As the lift rode up the four of them noticed how tired they really were and Will started to yawn and not yet falling asleep.

Percy poked him. "Don't fall asleep. If you do, I will just leave you in here!"

Will yawned again. "Well, what a good friend you are."

Arthur took Merlin's hand when the door opened. "Just through this corridor guys." He leaded them through a corridor and rounded a corner and were now standing in a hallways with several doors. Arthur opened the first one. "This one's yours for the night Percy. Breakfast will be around 8:30 but just come to my room when you are ready. Mine's the one at the back.

Percy said his good night and closed the door. Arthur walked to the next door and told Will that this was his and lastly he opened the door directly next to his bedroom. "This one's yours Merlin. And if you change your mind about what we talked about earlier or you can't sleep… there's a secret door behind that tapestry that leads to my room." He pointed to said object before turning his head back to Merlin with a smug smile.

Merlin narrowed his brows and snorted. "Really, a  _secret door_. What is this, the Middle Ages?"

"Just saying." Arthur said with a shrug and leaned in closer, waiting for some kind of permission from Merlin who leaned forwards as well and crushed their lips together.

"Night Arthur." Merlin said and closed the door.

Arthur breathed out a sigh and leaned on the wall next to the door. A smile gracing his lips and he kept standing there for a few moments before going to his own room. He would sleep fine this night, he knew it.

**~oOoOo~**

"Rise and shine!" Someone yelled with another one pulling open the curtains of the room Merlin stayed in. Merlin groaned, burying his head deeper into the pillow and pulling the blankets over his head. Another person yanked them down and Merlin whined, looking through the slits of his lids to see who were in the room.

Will, Percy and Arthur stood around the bed, smirking. Merlin patted around to find the blanket.

"Told you our Merlin here isn't a morning person." Will said with a nod of his head to Merlin.

"Come on lazy daisy." Arthur said with his hand grabbing Merlin's shoulder and shaking it. Merlin just groaned some more in response.

Will stepped forward, pushing Arthur out of the way. "Here let me, this always works." Will bent down close to Merlin's ear and yelled, "BREAKFAST!"

And indeed, like Will said and what was expected from any other person that would be yelled at close to the ear, Merlin's eyes flew open and he gave Will a hard shove. "Asshole!  _Stop_  doing that!" Merlin pushed his finger against his ear and wiggled it up and down in the hope it would stop the ringing.

Will ignored him. "Get up Merlin, breakfast is ready and it has snowed last night so we're going to our playground and have a snowball fight or whatever."

Merlin yawned and stretched. His muscles taut under his skin as he never slept with a shirt on, just pants. "Snowball fight…" He rubbed the heel of his hands into his eyes. "Are we nine?"

"Yes." Will and Arthur said at the same time. "So get up and move your butt." Will added.

"Alright. Ten minutes." Merlin said with a yawn.

"Five." Will said determined over his shoulder when he, Percy and Arthur walked out of the room to wait in the hallway.

To Will's amazement, Merlin indeed managed to be ready in five minutes. Or well, ready was a big word. Merlin's hair stuck out in all directions and he still had a sleepy expression on his face. His clothes looked somewhat decent so that was a plus.

"This way." Arthur said with a gesture of his hand towards the direction of one of the many breakfast rooms.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin had somewhat sobered up during breakfast, all he needed to achieve that was some tea, an espresso and some toast. He had sorted out his hair and a splash of water in his face was all it took for him to look a bit more lively again.

When the four of them finished breakfast, Arthur stood up. He nervously rubbed his neck. "Now, don't laugh, but I need to tell my parents I'll go out."

Percy furrowed his brows. "Why?"

Arthur shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "Well, long story short, they kinda decide whether or not I need to take bodyguards. I mean there are guards  _always_  close-by, but sometimes they want to have some directly following me." Arthur shook his head. "Just protocol basically. And you can come too if you want, so you can meet them."

Will's mouth dropped almost to the floor, his head tilted forward and his eyes budged out of their sockets in an almost comical manner. "Meet the King and Queen you mean?"

"Yeah Arthur, I'm not sure-" Merlin added, but Arthur cut him off.

"They won't bite!" He said with a chuckle. "They're just normal people."

Will had recomposed himself and quickly fell into his old teasing manners. He sighed dramatically. "Well, as long as we're here. They might as well meet  _me_."

Merlin quirked an eyebrow at him. And even though he felt a bit reluctant he stood up from his seat.

The three followed Arthur and came to a stop at two big wooden doors, Merlin started to fidget with his hands. Arthur leaned in closer.

"What's the matter?" He whispered, only for Merlin to hear.

"Well, I will meet my sort-of boyfriend his parents. I'm freaking out a bit!" Merlin whispered harshly back. He felt a hand slip into his own.

"I survived meeting yours right? I'm sure it'll be the same for you." He gave an extra squeeze in merlin's hand for some reassurance as he raised his other hand to knock at the door. It didn't take long before the four of them heard footsteps and not long after the door opened and the Queen of England stood in the door opening.

"Arthur!" The queen said with a solemn smile. "Come in, come in. You've brought your friends too I see." She stepped back and opened the door more. "Uther." She said and her husband looked up from the newspaper he was pretending to be reading. He stopped reading the moment he heard the knock on the door.

He saw his wife stand behind the four young men and was pointing to the one with black hair with her eyebrows wiggling and a teasing smile on her face. Uther stood up with a playful shake of his head and soon his wife was at his side again. He would finally meet the infamous Merlin their son hadn't stopped talking about, and as he looked down he noticed that his son's hand and Merlin's hand were linked. From that moment he knew that it had indeed turned out into something more serious as his wife had predicted.

Arthur smiled and still held hands with Merlin, although he could feel the slight tug from Merlin's part to let it go. Reluctant he let go of Merlin's hand, but saw that his parents had already noticed that they were holding hands. He didn't mind, his parents would've found out sooner or later anyways. "Mum, dad, these are Will O'Leary, Percy Michaels," He paused a moment to look at Merlin. "And this is Merlin Browne."

Merlin felt himself turning red at the way Arthur looked at him and he didn't dare to look back at the King and Queen. He swallowed heavily when he felt the two coming toward him.

Uther shook hands with the three, while Ygraine hugged everyone. Will, Percy and Merlin all stood motionless when that happened, neither of them knowing what to do and whether they should hug back as well. They were sort of relieved when the King and Queen took a step back.

"Mu-um." Arthur complained.

"Oh hush, Arthur. I wanted to meet them ever since you brought them up. Let me."

Arthur started to turn a bit red as well when he felt three pair of eyes on him. "Yes, I might mentioned you lot, here and there." Arthur muttered towards them.

"Here and there he says." Uther sighed and turned to the three friends. "Our son hasn't stopped talking about you!"

"Oh god." Arthur murmured, bringing his hands up to cover his face.

Ygraine gave her husband a soft shake of her head. "We should stop." She turned to her son and friends. "Did you all have breakfast already?"

"Yes Miss." Will said timidly, his big mouth kept in line for once.

Ygraine waved a hand. "Oh don't be so formal, call me Ygraine." Ygraine sat down on the sofa closest to the door and gestured her son and his friends to sit too, but Arthur shook his head.

"No I was just going to tell you that we will going out and you know, wanting to know whether or not having to take BG's with me. We're going to that playground next to the park."

BG's was his code word for bodyguards and something he was just used to use whenever talking about them to his parents. Even though he knew that he was never really alone and always being followed by a group of guards from a distance, he hated it when he was being  _directly_  followed by guards who didn't stray more than eight feet from him. He hoped he wouldn't need them today, but when he saw his mother bit her lip and looking up to his father he already saw it coming.

His father shook his head. "I know you hate it Arthur, but seeing the last few weeks with the threats coming from all directions we can't let you leave without them."

Arthur's shoulders dropped and he stepped closer to his father. He hoped he would have some success with his negotiation. "Just one then?" He asked hopeful.

"Four." His father replied.

Four!" Arthur repeated with a high voice. "No, two."

"Three." His father said determined.

"No, two. Please dad."

Uther looked up to his wife and she nodded her head. Uther sighed. "Fine , two. Leon and Elyan."

"Thank you." He turned around and waved his goodbye. "I'll be back for dinner, okay?"

"Sure hun. Have fun." His mother said and he closed the door.

**~oOoOo~**

"Well that was… different." Will said as they walked through the hallway and scratching his head. "I thought they would be. Well to be honest I don't know what I though what would happen … just not  _that_."

"I told you they weren't that bad." Arthur said with a smirk. He breathed in deeply. "Well apart from the security, it should be a nice day."

"Are there really that many threats?" Percy asked with interest.

Arthur shrugged and Merlin subconsciously gripped Arthur's hand in a tight grip. "Well there are, but most of them are just empty threats. However, there are a few who actually do something. But having security around is usually enough to scare them off at the last minute. Besides, there are always about three cars on standby who follow me around, so even  _if_  something happens they're there within the minute."

Percy breathed loudly out. "Wow. I'm not sure if I'd ever go out again."

"Well I can't let them stop living my life now can't I?" Arthur opened the same door the trio came in last night and saw a same black car as the one they drove in yesterday. Leon opened the door and when Merlin got in he saw the other bodyguard sitting in the front seat. He recognized him from last week when Arthur was in the library and Arthur said Elyan would take him anywhere he wanted.

When Merlin sat down and buckled his seatbelt he asked, "You're Elyan right?"

"That is correct sir." Elyan replied in a flat voice. Merlin scowled, he had specifically told the man to  _not_  call him sir, but he would leave it for now.

The car was big enough to have three rows of seats, including the front seat, so Will and Percy moved to sit in the row of seats behind the one Merlin sat on and Arthur went to sit next to Merlin.

When the car started to drive, Arthur automatically grabbed Merlin's hand in his own as it was starting to become common with them and looked Merlin in the eye. "Now that wasn't too bad was it?"

The smile he had on his lips was enough for Merlin to release the tension from his body and he relaxed more. "No. No it wasn't. You know, you really  _do_  look like your mum."

Arthur heaved one of his shoulder up. "Ah, hear that a lot. But hey, I take that as a compliment."

"It was meant to." Merlin said with a nod of his head, but then his eyes widened. "… not that your dad is ugly. No wait, I mean-"

Arthur chuckled. "You're cute when you stammer."

**~oOoOo~**

They arrived rather soon at the playground Will and Merlin spent most of their teenage years at. The roads were pretty clean thanks to the snow pushers that spent the entire morning making the roads clear and safe to drive on. Leon parked the car and he and Elyan got out and opened the back doors. Again, Merlin just said thanks to make it a little less awkward.

The playground was almost directly next to the park which was built years later to give children more space to play, but still the little playground was often visited by parents and their children because it was mostly overgrown by trees that gave a nice shade during the summer. Even today there were some parents with their children, but not that many. They did look a bit baffled at suddenly seeing their Crown Prince entering the playground and some took a picture with their phones, but most of them had a sensible mind and knew that the Prince wasn't waiting to be ambushed by them.

However, a few smaller children, mostly girls, recognized the Prince and ran up to him. His bodyguards moved forward, but Arthur waved them off and crouched down instead to be on eyelevel with the kids and answered the many questions they asked. Some girls asked if they could be a Princess, at which Arthur answered that they already were. This made the girls blush and shyly pecking a kiss on his cheek before running back to their parents or going back to their friends to continue playing in the freshly fallen snow.

Arthur himself stood up and turned to his friends. All three of them smirked at him.

"N'aww.  _Arthur_." Will began, placing his hands deliberately on his heart. "You got kissed… by  _girls_!"

"I'm sure Merlin won't mind these girls." Arthur sent a wink to Merlin. Merlin shook his head and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Not at all." Merlin mentioned.

The four of them walked further into the area and some parents decided to pack up their stuff and give the Prince and his friends some space. Arthur wanted to tell them that they really didn't had to do that, but it was already too late because they were gone before he knew it. He didn't had time to think long about it, because he got a snowball smashed against his head.

Turning his head around he saw Merlin laughing and already making a new one. "Oh you're going to be sorry." Arthur yelled back and scooped up some snow. He forgot his gloves and the snow was freezing his hands, but he didn't care about that right now.

They soon ended up having a snowball fight before falling down into the snow after almost half an hour, laughing and catching their breath.

Leon and Elyan kept looking around for any danger.

"I'm  _free_ -zing." Merlin said rubbing his hands together and blowing some hot breath in them. "Can't we go for a coffee or tea somewhere? We can always come back later."

"I think that's a great idea." Will said, shivering from the cold himself. "What about you Percy?"

"Definitely." The larger man said.

Arthur turned to his guards. "We're going to get somewhere warmer, what do you suggest?"

Leon looked at Elyan and then back up at Arthur. "There's a restaurant not far from here, we can drive to it and check if it's not too busy."

"Excellent. Let's go." Arthur said, his feet already moving towards the exit of the playground. He turned around to the trio walking behind him. His arms opened wide and as he started to walk backwards, he said, "I so won by the way."

Merlin scoffed. "You wish. Percy won."

The two bodyguards were moving forward to catch up, but stopped when they heard some twigs snap from within the overgrown bushes. In a split second everything changed. The peacefulness was gone and panic came into its place. The two men placed their hands on their gun and Leon spoke softly about a potential threat in the mic hidden in his collar, and asked for back up. They were full of concentration as they walked slowly to the bushes.

"Show yourself." Leon said stern when they were a few feet away from the bush. Leon nodded at Elyan and turned for a short moment to shout at the Prince but before Leon could say something there was some more rustling and then a shot being fired, the bullet went right through Elyan's upper arm and Elyan dropped his gun as it was the arm he held the gun in.

In a fraction of a second, a man charged out of the shrubs and brought his gun down on Leon's head. Knocking him out before Leon had even time to react. It happened too fast and no matter how much training Leon had, he wouldn't be able to move that fast to prevent it.

There were some gunshots coming from the other side of the park, but the man dodged the bullets almost expertly and raised his gun once more to shoot at his actual target.

Arthur, Merlin, Will and Percy stood dead in their tracks, not quite believing what went on in front of them. They had turned when they heard the first shot.

When they saw the man turning and pointing the gun up to them, Arthur came in action. He shouted "Go!" at the three persons standing in front of him. Percy and Will had quickly caught up with Arthur and he told them to go to the exit. Arthur had seen that black cars with bodyguards were already screeching to a halt at the parking lot next to the playground, he knew his friends would be safe with them. He turned his head, thinking that Merlin stood beside him, but Merlin was standing a few steps away from him. Arthur ran up to Merlin and curled his hand around Merlin's wrist and dragged him back with him. That was when he heard the gun go off again.

He felt something that was like a pinch, but far more painful, in his arm which then felt like it was being burnt. The next thing Merlin was leaning heavily on him and Arthur's hand tightened even more around Merlin's wrist.

He blinked heavily, almost not understanding what was happening. His vision started to be fill with men and women in black suits, some he recognized, others not. He heard one more gun being fired somewhere from behind him and then people started to shout. Merlin was pulled away from him by some of the unrecognizeable people, while people he  _did_  recognized tugged on his arm to get him away.

But Arthur was slowly starting to register of what had happened and his feet just didn't work anymore and he fell down on his knees. He blanked out, but heard people all around him shouting, "His highness has been shot!"


	12. Hidden Royalty Chapter Twelve

 

Leon regained consciousness almost immediately when he felt Elyan shake him at his shoulder with his injured arm while keeping pressure on the wound with his good arm. Leon got up on his knees and looked around for the Prince and to locate where the shooter was, if the gunman was still around he needed to protect Arthur. Just one turn to the left gave him his answer. The man stood perhaps a good four feet away from him and he had his gun raised. Quickly following the line to where the gun was pointed to, he saw that it was towards Arthur who was trying to get away and dragging Merlin with him. Leon quickly patted his own belt, but his gun wasn't there and he had no time to look for it, he needed to act. Fast.

He saw that many security agents started to enter the playground, but it wasn't their responsibility to care for the Prince's safety, it was  _his_. With unsteady legs he clambered up and told Elyan to stay back and to keep pressure on the wound.

Without his gun he would just have to convert to physical strength and he knew he possessed a great deal of that. He had found solid footing and had taken just three steps forward when he heard a gunshot, followed almost immediately by another shot, that caused the shooter to fall down. He watched if the man would move, but he remained motionless on the ground.

Now he needed to know how the Prince was. Had he gotten hit by that first shot, or had he been able to get away? He didn't saw the Prince at first because his eyes fell on the person that fired the last shot and was confused; he didn't recognize the guard. It was strange to him, because he knew  _every_  agent that worked in the secret service of the British Royal Family.

He put it to rest for the moment being because the next thing his eyes caught, was that many people were making a circle to where Arthur had been last standing. His heart pounded loudly against his ribcase because he feared that the Prince had indeed been shot. He walked faster now, regaining more and more control over his limbs with each step. He started to run to the spot everyone was gathered around and while he came closer, he heard it; "His Highness has been shot!"

His breath caught up in his throat. Not only was Arthur his Prince and responsibility to protect, Arthur was also someone he considered a friend. He started pushing people aside and pushed himself through, until he finally got to the centre of the circle. But he wasn't met with Arthur lying on the ground with a shot wound like he thought had happened, but he was met with the sight of Arthur's friend (if not boyfriend already) lying on the ground.

More security people which he didn't recognized were around Merlin, applying pressure to what seemed to be a chest wound, with other agents not yet yelling in their mics to tell the King that his son had been shot.

He looked around, frowning, they were talking about the King and son, but he didn't saw Arthur anywhere.  _Had they already transferred him to the hospital?_ Leon wondered. That was until the said person came crashing through the wall of people like he himself did not yet thirty seconds ago. He saw that Arthur had his hand clasped around his upper right arm, and determination was evident on his face… at least it was, right until his eyes caught the figure lying on the ground.

**~oOoOo~**

When Arthur was on his knees, staring at Merlin's body on the ground, he was being pulled up on his feet and led away. Only Arthur struggled with great force against the bodyguards that wanted to get him in one of the SUVs. He wouldn't want to have any of it, he wanted Merlin. He had seen Merlin lying in the snow, and he had seen that his boyfriend wasn't moving at all and Arthur was scared that they were too late. But he wouldn't believe that until he saw it with his own eyes. And even more, he needed to tell Merlin not to leave him, he wasn't allowed for fuck's sake!

But the three or four guards (he wasn't sure) that were pulling and pushing him further and further away wouldn't allow him to go back and this made him struggle even more, even when his arm hurt when he did it. Finally, with one strong pull of force he didn't know he was capable of, he released himself from the tight grips and shot forward to the protective circle and pushed himself through the people.

He came to a sudden stop when he came into the circle of the security guards and saw his boyfriend lying on his right side, his breathing ragged and he was fighting hard to keep his eyes open as the guards instructed him to stay awake. The white snow beneath him slowly turned into a pinkish red, despite the coats that had been laid underneath him and despite the large efforts several guards did to stop the bleeding.

He surged forward, his own discomfort in his arm complete forgotten now, and sank down onto his knees close to Merlin's head. No one tried to stop him and even if they would try they wouldn't succeed.

Arthur heard the sirens of ambulances coming closer, but he also heard people still screaming around him that the Prince is wounded. It was making him more and more angrier with every second that went by. The fact that the security guards were far more busy with him than with Merlin, pissed him off to no end, and he would have a good talk about it when this all would be over. From what he felt, his arm had just a scratch. But Merlin… Merlin was lying on the ground  _bleeding_ to dea–.

No he wouldn't think that, Merlin would get through this. Merlin never gave up. Merlin would not leave him alone.

He cupped one side of Merlin's face and stroked his cheekbone with his thumb. As he bent down closer, he whispered, "Hold on Merlin, help's here. Stay awake." He hoped to get some kind of respond from his boyfriend, but the only thing he could hear was the fast raspy breathing, and he really did not like that sound. It was like Merlin wasn't getting enough air.

But then. Those blue eyes, which were now glassy and holding nothing like their usual brightness in them, looked up trough half lidded eyes. Merlin tilted his head up ever so slightly and he tried to smile, but the smile faltered halfway and Arthur watched helplessly how Merlin's whole body went limp and how his eyes closed fully. "Merlin!" Arthur yelled. He grabbed Merlin's head in both hands, but Arthur was soon pulled away and he struggled even harder this time round. But this time it didn't work, he just wasn't washed up against now six of his guards who pulled him away from the scene.

They dragged the struggling Arthur towards the exit, where ambulances had now arrived and some paramedics made their way to the circle and started to work fast at Merlin, while other paramedics came towards Arthur.

"No, please." Arthur started to beg, but his security didn't listen to him. "Please, I need to be with him." Arthur tried again and looked around. Leon was there. "Leon, please!"

"I'm sorry your Highness." He said with authority, but there was a hint of sadness behind it. "But you're our first priority." He nodded to the two men standing closest to Arthur, who ushered Arthur into the ambulance. Leon climbed in after Arthur was set down on the stretcher and the paramedic started to shine a light in Arthur's eyes.

The minute the doors were shut the ambulance drove off.

**~oOoOo~**

The King and Queen of England arrived at the hospital. Ygraine was in tears and Uther tried to look strong, but inside he felt anything  _but_  that. They were greeted by a ton of press and paparazzi, who must've been tipped off by people who were at the playground or in the park nearby the playground.

Their security kept them at a distance, but that didn't stop them from shouting questions. Uther ignored them and instead softly pushed his wife towards the entrance of hospital. Inside, they were quickly led to the room where their son was in with Leon standing guard in front of the door. He was cleared from any injuries and immediately went back to his duties.

When they were in the room, the King and Queen were introduced to the physician assigned to their son. Ygraine nodded to the man and then all but ran to the bed where Arthur laid in, touching his face and running a hand through his soft golden hair. "Arthur… sweetie?" Her broken pleas were being unanswered and her tear streaked face looked up to the doctor.

"Why isn't he answering? They said he wasn't injured apart from a small wound at his upper arm." She eyed the bandage that had been wrapped around a part of his upper arm.

The man swallowed. "When… His Highness was brought in, he was  _very_  stressed. He kept asking where someone called Merlin was, and the stress at that point was so high that it was starting to overwork his heart. We had to sedate him to calm him down, but he should be waking up any minute now. However, when he wakes try to keep him calm." The doctor swallowed again, it wasn't every day that the King and Queen were in the hospital and it wasn't every day that you had to care for the Prince.

"When we had sedated him we could fully assess the wound, and the Prince was very lucky. It seemed that the bullet only grazed a patch of skin which should heal quick and nicely and without any scarring." The man's pager beeped furiously. "I'm really sorry, there's an emergency. If you have any questions, I'm more than willingly to answer them later when I'll do a check-up."

The man left the room before either royal could say something.

Uther ran a hand across his face. He was happy, of course, that Arthur came out of this relatively unharmed, but he knew Merlin wasn't as lucky as his security had reported to him.

The last thing his security guards had seen, was that Merlin had stopped breathing. Arthur was already in the ambulance at that time, so he wouldn't know that it had happened… and to be frank, he didn't know how to tell his son about that. He had seen how Merlin and Arthur looked at each other when they were in the room earlier that day.

They were in love, he was positive about it and he knew that Ygraine knew it too. Both of them knew how serious Arthur was about Merlin, even though he didn't explicitly said it to them. But he didn't had too, the way he acted the last few weeks was all the confirmation they needed to know that their son was very much in love with the dark haired boy.

Uther breathed in deeply and walked forward and sat heavily down into one of the chairs next to the bed and placed an arm around his wife's shoulder. With his other hand he gently gripped Arthur's hand into his own and then they waited. Ygraine was murmuring small nothings to their son while he just looked at him.

If things had gone different then his son would be the one in trauma right now.

It were fifteen stressful minutes before their son started to stir. Both were immediately on their feet, Ygraine stroking his hair and Uther holding a tight grip on his son's hand.

Arthur's eyes fluttered. "Mum… dad?" He croaked out. He blinked a few times and moved his head from side to side to see where he was.

Uther and Ygraine saw on their son's face the exact moment that it dawned on him of what had happened not yet an hour ago.

Arthur wanted to sit up, but Uther pushed him lightly down onto the bed.

He tried again, but again his father held him down.

Knowing he couldn't go against his father, he laid down and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply in and asked nervously, "How's Merlin?"

Uther and Ygraine looked at each other, both not knowing the answer nor wanting to answer that question. It would only upset their son even more.

**~oOoOo~**

Balinor laid in bed with Hunith in his arms. Her head was resting on his chest, a playful smile gracing her face as she was drawing patterns on his stomach with the tips of her fingers.

He was softly stroking through her hair with his fingers and savoured the moment. That was until he and Hunith were interrupted by an insisting and urgent knock that was just short of banging on the bedroom door.

"Sire! My Lady!"

Lancelot.

Balinor had a flash of panic going through him, Lancelot wouldn't just interrupt them like that for something minor. He stood up from the bed and passed Hunith a robe while he quickly shrugged into his pants and trousers. He looked over his shoulder to see if Hunith was decent.

She closed the robe around her waist and looked at him with confusion.

Balinor opened the door and saw a panicked Lancelot on the other side. "What is it?" His own voice now panicked too. He watched his security guard, it was almost like what Lancelot was about to say would be too bad to say.

"Lancelot…" Balinor urged. He felt Hunith getting closer to him now, she must've sensed something was wrong.

"It's." Lancelot swallowed deeply. "It's Prince Merlin… he's been shot."

Hunith gasped loudly first before breaking out in tears and burying her head into Balinor's chest, murmuring, "No, no, no."

Balinor stood frozen for a moment, his mind doing overtime, but his body was as good as paralyzed. He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down, but it did little. As he opened his eyes he looked straight at Lancelot and said, "Where is he now."

"The ambulance has taken him to Escetir Hospital-"

"How bad is it." Balinor asked knowing damn well he interrupted Lancelot. And even though he tried his hardest to look as calm as possible, inside he was aching, knowing that his son was hurt. What if his son was badly injured, he would never forgive himself. What if his son would die, he would never had the chance to tell Merlin about who he really is and Merlin would never know that he was his father. That was unacceptable and Balinor prayed that everything would be okay.

Balinor kissed Hunith on the top of her head and whispered, "Get dressed." He let go of her to quickly grab his dress shirt and socks and stepped out to the landing to put them on. He could care less about modesty right now, but he still wanted to give Hunith some kind of privacy while she dressed.

While he dressed, he listened to Lance's explanation who tried to ignore his King's state of undress.

"Prince Merlin has been shot in the chest that went straight through and exited from his back. The bullet then grazed Prince Arthur's upper arm. Some of our security were finally able to shoot the gunman after several failed attempts, while others started to apply pressure on the Prince's wound. From what reports told me, the Prince had difficulty breathing and they're almost positive that he has a collapsed lung. When the paramedics arrived, the Prince lost consciousness."

Hunith came out of the room, dressed in the first clothing she could find and gripped Balinor tightly around the waist, burying her head once again in his chest. She hadn't stopped crying ever since and Balinor tried his best to be a comfort to her by slowly rubbing circles on her back, but even  _he_  had difficulties to keep himself composed.

"Take us to the hospital." Balinor said, choking down a sob.

**~oOoOo~**

Not much time after Ygraine and Uther had entered the hospital, Balinor and Hunith arrived.

The press and paparazzi went even more nuts at seeing the Mercian King with an unknown woman at his side, but were more intrigued to  _why_  the Mercian monarch was there in the first place. They started speculating; most of them thought it was because of the English Prince, but others said that it was impossible because the Mercian monarch left last Thursday and he wouldn't be able to travel  _that_  fast from Mercia to England.

"Was that King Balinor of Mercia that just rushed past us?" Nimueh asked her colleague with a surprised tone and took a few photographs of him and the unknown woman.

Initially, she had been waiting in front of the hospital - as many other members of the press, news channels and paparazzi.

They all wanted to have the scoop about Prince Arthur being shot, as well as from his close friend Merlin Browne, who appeared to be in a life or death situation. If she would caught sight of the grieving Prince, she would have pictures and video footage that would be worth gold and that wasn't a chance she would pass up.

And the fact that the King of Mercia was also present was just an added bonus!

"I think it was." Her colleague replied. "But why would he be here?" He sounded positively confused.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Nimueh replied with determination and hid her photo camera in her coat. She slipped away from the crowd to walk to one of the side entrances of the hospital. She would be the one with the exclusive inside story.


	13. Hidden Royalty Chapter Thirteen

Percy and Will had been ushered into one of the many black SUVs at the front of the playground. Everything had happened so fast that neither of them knew where Arthur and Merlin were and if they were okay. They had heard the gunshots, but neither knew whether their friends got hurt or if they got away.

When the doors had been closed and the car had started to move, only then Percy saw who the driver was. "Tom? What are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be-"

"Percy I don't have time for this!" He brought his finger to his ear to listen to the message he was receiving and answered, "Yes. We will escort the ambulance with the Prince to the hospital."

"Ambulance!" Percy as well as Will shouted at the same time.

"What happened to Arthur!?" Percy yelled panicked, but didn't got a response. The only kind of response was that his big brother glanced into the rear-view mirror, but he still didn't said anything to him.

Tom steered the car expertly through the busy London traffic rush and within ten minutes the hospital building came into view. Tom quickly pulled up onto the hospital's emergency site and got out to open the backdoor where Percy sat, while his partner opened the door Will sat.

"Are you two alright?" Tom asked with concern as they waited for the ambulance to pull up into the emergency dock.

Will nodded and Percy answered, "Yes. But Tom tell me what hap-" But again he got cut off by his brother when the wailing of the sirens came onto the premises and Tom pushed Will and Percy out of the way and told them to stay there. Tom then quickly went to the ambulance as the doors had opened, and continued to mutter into the mic.

Will and Percy's eyes budged when they saw the person on the stretcher. It wasn't Arthur, it was Merlin!

**~oOoOo~**

Balinor and Hunith were escorted into the hospital by half a dozen security guards, only to be met with another half a dozen when they actually entered the building. Balinor was looking around him frantically and was ignoring the stares he got from hospital personnel as well as from visitors. He held Hunith close at his side, giving some comfort to the love of his life who was in desperate need for that, and perhaps he subconsciously wanted to have the reassurance that Hunith was indeed there with him.

Hunith lifted her head and started to look around as well. She just noticed one person in particular. Will, sitting on one of the chairs lined up at the wall, his head bowed down and buried in his hands. He didn't seemed to aware of his surroundings and it might even looked like he was crying judging by the soft up and down movements from his shoulders. There was another boy sitting next to Will with his hand placed on Will's shoulder and Hunith presumed that had to be Percy as she heard Merlin always talking about three people in particular; Arthur, Will and Percy.

She wanted to walk to them, but Lancelot already came towards her and Balinor and led them to a bit more quieter part of the emergency hall. Lancelot then went from the King's side and spoke to Tom about the latest news from the Prince's condition.

"Where is he? Where is my son!" Balinor exclaimed after not hearing anything from his security. He got some gasps and whisperings in response from personnel and visitors alike, but he didn't care if the news about him being Merlin's father was out, it would've come out sooner or later anyways. But all he cared for right now was Merlin and hearing that Merlin would be alright, but he didn't know since no one had the decency to update him.

Hunith gripped his hand tighter and huddled even closer at his side. She was too shaken up and too scared of what had happened to her son to say anything. Balinor calmed down a bit more at the action and consciously breathed in deeply and as he looked around for a second time, he now saw Lancelot talking to a what Balinor guessed was doctor, judging by the blue uniform.

Lancelot quickly came to stand in front of him, with the man in blue uniform standing almost nervously next to him. Lancelot leaned in closer. "Sir, if you would follow me to a more private setting."

Balinor nodded and pulled Hunith with him as he followed his guard.

They were led into an office. "I'm sorry that we have to meet this way Your Majesty, madam. Please take a seat." The man gestured towards the sofa placed at the wall opposite of a desk.

Lancelot took position next to the entrance with his hands clasped in front of him.

The man sat down on one of the chairs he pulled away from the desk and held his hand out for Hunith and Balinor to shake and started to introduce himself. "I'm doctor Pearson, one of the surgeons that performed surgery on… your son?" He added the last with a bit of uncertainty, while looking between Balinor and Hunith. He had gotten a quick fill in by the guard Lancelot, and was surprised to learn about what ties the King had with the patient but in the end it didn't matter which heritage his patient had, he would do his best to save the patient's life.

Balinor nodded slowly at the man's question while Hunith sucked in a quivering breath when she heard that her son went into surgery. Balinor gripping her hand tightly, he had a small amount of hope that his son would be lucky enough to  _not_  be needing surgery, but who was he kidding; being shot couldn't mean having a lucky escape.

The man sighed softly before looking at Hunith and Balinor. "Your son had been shot on the left side of his chest, just below the shoulder. The bullet exited from his back, but unfortunally his lung got punctured in the process which caused his lung to collapse and your son to cough up blood. When your son was brought in, he was unconscious and his body went into shock due to the large amount of blood he had lost. While we were trying to stop the bleeding your son went into cardiac arrest." The surgeon paused for a second to let it sink in.

Hunith shook her head repeatedly and started to mumble. "No. Not Merlin. Please he has to pull through."

Balinor was unable to respond and kept staring to the ground.

The surgeon continued, keeping his voice as calm and neutral as possible to not upset the parents even more. "We performed CPR and had to shock his heart once to regain heart rhythm."

Balinor sighed out of relieve but tensed up when the doctor continued.

"We weren't able to stop the bleeding without surgery and had to rush your son into emergency surgery where we intubated him due to respiratory distress."

"During surgery his heart stopped once more and it was touch-and-go for a moment, but we've managed to get his heart working again."

"Oh thank God!" Balinor exclaimed. He breathed out all the air he was holding in and wiped the stubborn tears away that he felt welling up in the corner of his eyes.

"We repaired the damage and managed to stop the bleeding. However, we had to insert a chest tube to let the collapsed lung fill up again, but we will remove the tube when your son is able to breathe without help of the ventilator and the lung is able to stay inflated on its own." The surgeon paused one more moment and linked his fingers together.

"All things considered, Your Majesty, your son has been extremely lucky. Apart from the one lung, neither his heart or other major vessels or organs had been damaged. Right now, your son is stable and has been transferred to the ICU. We will have more certainty after the critical first twenty-four hours are over, but we're optimistic, as we -"

"C-can we see him?" Hunith's soft voice broke through, interrupting the surgeon. She wasn't normally one to interrupt, but she couldn't stand it anymore, she needed to see her baby.

Balinor looked to the side to see Hunith's tear streaked face and he couldn't stand seeing Hunith like that. He turned to the surgeon who nodded his head.

"He's still weak from the blood loss and surgery and he's likely to be unconscious the first few hours, maybe even until tomorrow, as his body is trying to mend itself. But yes, you can see him." Doctor Pearson stood up. "Let me take you to his room."

**~oOoOo~**

Balinor was rubbing his hand over Hunith's back when they walked through the white halls. He was trying to calm her down because he could feel her faintly shaking against his side. They entered through the automatic double doors of the Intensive Care Unit and followed the doctor until he stopped in front of a room in the back of the hall.

"I'll give you two some time alone." Doctor Pearson stated with a small apologetic smile. Balinor nodded curtly to him and turned once more to Hunith. He saw that her eyes were still red and moist from all the crying and he knew that his eyes must've looked quite the same.

Security started to take positions all across the hall and two agents (one of them being Lancelot) stood on either side of the door.

Balinor's hand reached out for the door handle and braced himself for what he might see on the other side of the door. He turned the handle ever so slowly and pushed the door open. The sight that met them wasn't one he would ever like to see again. Merlin laid in the hospital bed, his eyes closed and the blanket was half turned so it was clear from his torso. There was a white hospital gown draped over his torso to keep him somewhat warm.

Balinor entered the room, Hunith close to his side and both slowly walked forward towards the bed. The door of the room was closed by one of the security guards.

There was all kinds of noises. Oxygen pushed in and being released, beeps from the IV, beeps from the heart rate monitor and beeps from more equipment he didn't knew what purpose it served for. There were tubes going to and coming from his son and the two most prominent being the tube leading from the left side of his chest and the tube that was in his mouth. There was an IV with blood put in his arm and there were bandages wrapped around his torso, the last thing Balinor could discover was that there was something clipped onto his son's finger. Balinor wasn't sure where it was for, perhaps his heart rate.

Hunith had walked from his side to stand next to the bed and gently carded her fingers through their son's hair. Balinor watched how she bent down and pressed a kiss on his forehead, but Merlin didn't respond to anything. When Hunith stood straight up again and turned to him he saw the fresh tears that had started to fall. She walked back towards him, shaking her head.

"I just need a moment." She said softly and walked past him. He held out his hand, but she shrugged him off. "No, just alone. I'll be back soon." She sniffed and wiped away the tears.

Balinor heard and saw the door click close and found himself alone in the room. He turned his head around to look at his son, lying there motionless on the hospital bed. He shuffled forward and settled on the seat next to the bed and propped his elbows on his knees with his hands gripping his hair. This was not how he wanted things to go. It's quite the opposite really.

And only now he started to really realize how much he had actually missed of his son's life. All those first things; first word, first time walking, first day of school and so on. He knew that he couldn't change that fact, but he knew that he could be a part of what is to come. When Merlin comes through this, he will do anything in his power to get to know Merlin better, to know what he likes to do, what his favourite food is and everything else. He wants to get to know his son and  _be_  a parent to him.

The question now is; Does Merlin wants that?

He wants Merlin to have a say in all this, because he knew what a big shock it'll be when Merlin finds out that his father is there and that he is the King of Mercia, which makes Merlin automatically a Prince.

Balinor lifted his head and sighed deeply.

Everything always had to be  _so_ complicated.

Balinor looked at his son once more, he looked so peaceful, like in a deep sleep. But when Balinor's eyes wandered to the tubes and bandages he knew that  _he_  certainly wasn't dreaming, it was more like he was in a nightmare.

Balinor ran a hand across his face and then held it out towards Merlin's arm. He wanted to lower it, but it was like something was holding him back. He didn't know whether it was because his son is injured or that it had some other cause.

He pulled his arm back to his body, but then he reached out again and with a stuttering motion lowered his hand onto Merlin's hand and taking it into his own hand.

Just a really small smile crept onto his lips.

His eyes were so focused onto his son that he didn't heard that the door had opened and it wasn't until he felt an arm draped around his shoulder that he was aware that Hunith was back in the room.

"He looks so much like you." Hunith almost whispered, Balinor looked up to her. "Not just from the outside, but his personality as well."

Balinor slung his free arm around Hunith's waist and lowered his head onto her side. The both watched silently how their son's chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

**~oOoOo~**

"So he's alright to go?" Uther asked the doctor while Ygraine was being the doting parent. Helping Arthur with his jacket (while Arthur complained excessively about that) and hugging him every chance she got.

The man looked up from the patient record and nodded. "He is. He has to take his rest and he has to make sure he isn't exerting that arm. And before he goes to bed tonight make sure to redress the bandage and once more tomorrow evening."

"I'll make sure it's being done." Uther answered, holding out his hand.

The man gripped Uther's arm and with a small nod of his head he mumbled, "Your Majesty."

Arthur managed to break free from his mother's smothering grip and pushed himself forward past his father. "How's Merlin? Can I see him."

The doctor softly shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't give you that information… Your Highness."

"But-" Arthur started to get frustrated. All that he was told was that Merlin had been transferred to the ICU, but the staff hadn't told him anything about how Merlin was doing.

"Arthur." Uther interfered as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "We'll come back later and then I'll ask if you can see him." He looked up to the doctor and said, "Thank you." The doctor nodded one last time and turned on his heel.

Arthur turned to face his father. "Dad, I need to see him now. I need to know he's okay. No one is telling me  _anything_. Is he even alive!" He walked to the bed and sat heavily down next to his mother. Uther crouched down in front of him, placing his hands on his son's knees.

"Arthur look at me." Arthur lifted his head. "We know you're concerned about Merlin, but our hands are tied here."

"But you're the King!" Arthur shouted.

Uther sighed and stood up. "Yes, but I can't just go demanding to let you see him. We need to think of his parents."

"He just has his mum." Arthur mumbled.

Before either Uther or Ygraine could reply, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Uther said and watched the door open and Leon walking in. He bowed his head to the King and Queen and made a beeline to the TV hanging on the wall of the hospital room.

"I think all of you need to see this." Leon said and turned on the TV. The screen flashed on and the picture that could be seen was that of a woman with black hair holding a microphone in her hands. Uther and Ygraine started to frown when they saw the headline at the bottom of the screen.

_**King Balinor of Mercia, a father?** _

Leon turned up the volume and the three royals could hear the last thing that was said during the news segment. Pictures of the hospital and Balinor showed up at the side.

"…  _several witnesses in the hospital **have**  confirmed that His Royal Majesty King Balinor of Mercia has indeed said that he is the father of Merlin Browne now Emrys, the friend of His Royal Highness Prince Arthur. This was Nimueh Lewis, live for Albion News. Good evening._"

Leon turned the TV off.

"No." Arthur scoffed shaking his head at not believing what he had just heard. "No, he wouldn't… no, this is a lie."

"Arthur –" Ygraine tried, but just like her husband she herself was baffled by the message.

"No!" Arthur said harshly again and sprinted out of the door and ran to almost the other side of the hospital where the ICU was located. He punched the button for the automatic doors to open and ran past the reception desk.

"Sir you can't go in there!" A nurse yelled after him, but it didn't stop Arthur. He ran further but he had no clue where to go. He only noticed Will and Percy sitting not yet three feet away from him when they had stood up after seeing Arthur and said his name, Arthur had only turned his head to them but he didn't respond to them. He only had eyes for the many men and women in black suits lining up at one particular hallway. It was a good guess as any that Merlin would be somewhere there. He walked up quickly to the hallway and the security were looking at each other, not knowing whether or not to stop the Prince of England and friend of their Prince, so they let him through and they knew Lancelot would decide what to do when Arthur would come to the door.

Arthur's eyes fell on the door with two agents standing on either side and he was pretty sure that was Merlin's room. And if the many agents wasn't enough answer to him about merlin's true identity, than it would be the one guard standing next to the door that was quickly opening it and slipping into the room, after seeing the British Prince. Arthur followed in and got indeed his answer.

The guard was bent down to whisper into Balinor's ear, but stood up when Arthur had entered the room and not long after the British King and Queen entered too.

Will and Percy had followed Arthur too, but kept standing in the hallway as not wanting to impose, but also not wanting to be left out from any information. The guards were reluctant at first to let them stay, but after Hunith said it was okay, they allowed it.

The Pendragon family stood nailed to the ground, eyes widened just slightly and Balinor and Hunith had turned their head and stared back in quite the same fashion.

The sight Arthur saw in front of him was Balinor holding Merlin's hand and Merlin's mother sitting next to the King with her hand on Balinor's arm. Arthur tried not to focus too much on Merlin, he had seen a glimpse of all the tubes and he didn't want to see more.

Arthur began to rub his forehead and his eyes closed. His breathing started to pick up and he started to mumble. "He's a… he's a. No he wouldn't lie to me. He's…"

Ygraine stepped forward, her hands placed on her son's shoulders and gently coaxing him to step back towards the hallway but he shrugged her off and turned to his parents. "Did you know?" He asked flatly, his eyes already starting to glisten. "Did. you. know." He repeated through gritted teeth.

"No Arthur." Uther began shaking his head.

"Lies!" Arthur yelled through clenched teeth. Ygraine hurried forward and took her son into her arms, placing his head onto her shoulder and began to soothe him by rubbing her hand up and down his back and trying to calm him down. She whispered into his ear, "We didn't know Arthur, I'm sure there's reason for this. Calm down hunnie."

Uther came to their side and looked at Balinor and then gently pushed his wife and son towards the door, but Balinor stood up from his chair.

"Wait."

Ygraine, Uther and Arthur turned around.

"I need to explain."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to. I saw it on the news already!"

"They don't know everything. Please let me explain, just not here." He turned and held out his hand for Hunith to grab and helped her up. "There's an empty room next to this one."

Uther had nodded and even though Arthur was reluctant at first he nodded as well and followed Balinor to the room next to the one Merlin was in. Before exiting, he turned around and saw his boyfriend. Paler than he already normally was. He didn't know that was even possible.

**~oOoOo~**

Arthur sat at Merlin's bedside. Merlin's hand firmly pressed into his own. He still couldn't believe it that his boyfriend turned out to be a Prince, just like him. When Balinor had taken them to the other room he and Hunith told their story… the  _whole_  story.

When it dawned on him that Merlin didn't know and neither did his parents that Merlin was Balinor's son, he had calmed down more and had asked to sit next to Merlin for a while. But now sitting next to Merlin he was lost at what to do. He could only stare at Merlin and he eyed all the tubes with disgust.

"Come on Merlin, you're stronger than this." Arthur whispered.

There was no response, only a heavy silence.

"I'm so sorry." Arthur said after a few minutes of silence. "Because of me, you're hurt. And now we can't even punish the person who's responsible."

Half an hour after Arthur had been told that Merlin was of royal blood, the message came that the shooter had died from his own injuries. He had never regained consciousness and so the police and security guards hadn't been able to find out what the motive of the shooter was. They had done a fingerprint check which revealed that he was an ex-soldier, which would explain his expertise with dodging bullets and his ability to shoot fairly accurate from a distance, but what it didn't explain was  _why_  the attack had happened and now they would probably never find out.

Some part of Arthur was happy to hear that the gunman was dead, but the other part wasn't as he didn't had the possibility to look the gunman straight in the eye and telling him that he would rot in jail. But his death was enough justice for him… for now.

"Please Merlin, wake up." Arthur begged after more minutes of silence. He then heard the door open and his mum and dad walked in. They walked up to him and his father went to stand behind Arthur and his mother went to stand next to him.

Arthur pressed his lips to Merlin's hand. "I can't lose him." He muttered, choking back a sob.

"We know hunnie." Ygraine said softly.

"You don't understand." Arthur said looking up to his mother. "I  _love_ him."

"We know that too Arthur." His father said. Arthur stared back at his father and when Uther saw Arthur's slightly confused expression, he answered, "We have known for quite a while now Arthur. And it's fine. Really."

"But it's time to go Arthur."

Arthur shook his head, gripping Merlin's hand just a little bit tighter.

"Arthur, you are injured-"

"I'm fine." Arthur retorted.

"Arthur, you need some rest. Today has been a straining day. You can come back tomorrow."

"Merlin needs me." Arthur replied, turning back to Merlin and leaning forward to place an hand against Merlin's cheek.

Uther sighed softly and looked at his wife. She just nodded and bent down to be closer to Arthur. "Just like you, Merlin needs rest. And as soon as something changes, we will hear about it."

Finally Arthur nodded after contemplating his mum's words and stood up, only to press a light kiss on Merlin's forehead first before he turned around and walked out of the door. Balinor and Hunith already waiting on the other side.

"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier." Arthur said to both Balinor and Hunith.

"We understand." Hunith said softly and stepped forward to envelop Arthur in a tight hug. "And I'm sorry for giving Merlin such a hard time for spending time with you."

"Don't be." Arthur said as he stepped back from Hunith's embrace. "I understand now why you did it." He gave Hunith a small smile and looked at the door. "Please call us as soon as something changes."

"We will." Balinor answered.

**~oOoOo~**

The next day Arthur didn't went to school, but instead spent his time in the hospital, just like Will and Percy who were allowed now to visit Merlin for short periods of time. Arthur had been informed by Hunith and Balinor that there had been some improvement in Merlin's condition overnight and was moved to the general ward. They also told Arthur, Percy and Will that the doctors were expecting that Merlin could wake up any moment now.

Will and Percy stood close to the wall, while Merlin's parents and Arthur sat closer to the bed. Balinor didn't know whether he should stay or if it was better that he had gone away. He didn't know how Merlin would react if he saw him when he would wake up, but Balinor just couldn't make himself leave his son's side.

Balinor had leaned one arm on the armrest and had pressed his head against his hand. His legs were nervously bouncing up and he stared down to the ground. Time seemed to tick by slowly.

Balinor didn't know how much time exactly had passed, but the next thing he heard was Hunith's panicked combined with excitement call. "Merlin?" His eyes were immediately drawn to the hand Hunith was holding and he saw his son's fingers move. He immediately sat up straighter and looked at his son's face that started to contort into a frown. Arthur had stood up from his seat and was half hanging over Merlin and softly saying his name.

Merlin started trash his head from side to side and made choking noises which made Balinor punch the alarm button.

"Merlin, just breathe slowly." Hunith said, perhaps a bit forceful. "Don't fight it."

Within seconds the door opened and a small team of doctors and nurses came in, with most of the nurses ushering Arthur, Will and Percy out of the room and other nurses pushing Balinor and Hunith to the side.

They could only watch how doctors and nurses alike were telling their son to relax and telling that the tube in his throat helped him to breath, but when that didn't help the doctors decided to get the tube out and breathe him manually with an oxygen mask until Merlin would be able to breathe on his own.

Hunith had turned and buried her head into Balinor's chest. She didn't want to see how the tube would be extracted from her son's throat.

It took some mere seconds to get the tube out and one nurse immediately started to put an oxygen mask over Merlin's nose and mouth and started to pump the bag attached to it in an even rhythm.

Hunith and Balinor saw that Merlin was blinking sluggishly and how their son slowly got more control over his own breathing. The doctors told the nurse after a few minutes that she could switch to a normal oxygen mask and next the doctor told Balinor and Hunith that it would stay there for the next hour. They had just nodded.

The doctors performed a quick examination and were pleased so far with Merlin's recovery. They told the parents that his wounds hadn't start to infect and even his breathing started to get more regular with the help of the oxygen mask. The blood bag was being taken away as his blood levels were normal now as was his heart rhythm. The doctor told the two of them that it was normal for Merlin if he'd be drifting in and out of consciousness the next hours, but he hoped that Merlin would be fully awake by the end of the afternoon.

"I'll be back in an hour to see how he's doing then." One of the doctor said to the concerned parents. "And for now just two people per visit. I don't want to have too many people in here."

"Of course." Balinor said with a nod and watched the doctors and nurses leave again. He bent his head down to kiss Hunith on top of her hair and tightened his grip around her.

What he didn't noticed was how Merlin's head fell to the side and looked at their direction through half lidded eyes. He blinked a couple of times.

The last thing Merlin saw before he slipped back into unconsciousness was that a man that looked familiar had wrapped his arms around his mother and was kissing the top of her head.


	14. Hidden Royalty Chapter Fourteen

Balinor had stepped out of the room after the doctor was done with the agreed hour check-up. Everything went as it was supposed to go and Merlin had drifted in and out of consciousness as was expected. When Merlin was conscious, he would open his eyes and blink several times before closing them again. He never made any eye contact with anyone and Balinor and Hunith weren't even sure if Merlin knew where he was.

As Balinor had stepped out of the room to discuss some further improvement for the security with Lancelot, Arthur came into the room and had taken his place next to the bed. Arthur was bummed to say at least that only two persons were allowed in the room at this time, but it wasn't like he could do anything to change that decision.

Hunith smiled softly when he took a seat and saw that he immediately gripped Merlin's hand into his own.

Three more hours went by in quite the same fashion. Balinor and Arthur pretty much took turns with occasionally Will and Percy taking a place. Hunith remained at Merlin's side at all times. The doctor had come by to do several more test and Merlin was finally cleared from the oxygen mask. However, the chest tube was still needed as were the IVs with pain medication.

At around one in the afternoon, security had brought in some lunch for everyone, which existed out of a few basic sandwiches and some strong coffee. Arthur had picked a chicken sandwich as he had discovered those were Merlin's favourite and he was just feeling sentimental at this point.

Arthur was just munching on his sandwich and Hunith was drinking her coffee while reading a newspaper article that involved Merlin when they heard it.

"Chicken?"

It was said softly, almost like a whisper, and the voice sounded hoarse, but immediately Hunith and Arthur's head had turned towards the bed where they saw how Merlin had turned his head to the left towards Arthur and was actually looking  _at_  him. Arthur forgot the chicken sandwich immediately, letting it slide of his lap as he jumped up to cup Merlin's head between his both hands and bringing his lips down onto Merlin's in a moment of passion. When he pulled back he saw Merlin smile faintly before his face twisted in pain when he tried to sit up more.

Hunith had stood up as well and gently pushed her son down before running a hand through his hair. Merlin turned his head and smiled at her as well. She was close to tears to see her son awake and responding, although she saw that his eyelids were already started to droop a little bit again.

Merlin swallowed a few times and Hunith saw his discomfort when he did it, so she brought a cup of water with a straw to his lips and he drank it eagerly. Sighing with pleasure as he drank the cup in one big gulp.

When she put the cup down she turned to him and stared at him a few seconds. Arthur was sitting down again, but had pulled up his chair even closer to the bed than it already was and was once again holding Merlin's hand close into his and pressing his lips against the back of Merlin's hand, but now with a smile gracing his face.

"I'm going to get the doctor." Hunith announced after staring at her son for a few moments. She was careful to take the newspaper with her. When she had walked out of the door Merlin had been looking confused for a few seconds, not really understanding yet where he was and why. But it slowly came back to him of what had happened. He slowly turned his head towards Arthur again.

He coughed because of his still too dry throat, before asking, "Has the sho- … are you hurt?"

Arthur shook his head no but then gave a one shouldered shrug. "No, well not really. Nothing I can't handle. It's you that I was worried about."

When Merlin shifted in the bed, his face carried signs of pain again. He looked down and saw the bandages and then the tube sticking out of him and his eyes widened. He brought his hand up towards it but Arthur batted his hand away.

"No, don't touch it." He said stern with a scowl on his face. "The doctor had said it might be uncomfortable, just try to relax and don't think about it too much."

Merlin closed his eyes and whispered back, "Easy for you to say. There aren't things sticking out of you." He opened his eyes, but Arthur could see how tired he was. He bent forward and placed a hand against Merlin's cheek.

"Just get some more sleep."

Merlin nodded slowly, his eyes closing more and more. Before he was completely back to sleep he said one specific thing that made Arthur laugh out loud.

"I've cleaned my room, mister neat."

**~oOoOo~**

Hunith had entered the room once more and the doctor had been able to wake Merlin for a short period of time to ask a few questions. Merlin was able to answer a few before he had become too tired to answer some more and drifted back to sleep.

The doctor had checked his wounds and they still looked the same, again no sign of any infection. He had beckoned Hunith to follow him and when they were outside the room, Balinor quickly came towards them and they both followed the doctor to a nearby office.

The doctor looked between both and smiled. "Merlin is doing really great so far. From how things are going, I suspect him to be fully awake early this evening. I will check him once more then and check his lung function. If everything is normal, I can take the chest tube out. We'll let him sit first and then slowly we'll let him walk around the room. At the same time we will gradually lower the pain medications, so he's more responsive and won't be so tired so easily. Of course if he feels any pain we can increase it again."

"That's great news." Balinor said and wrapped his arm around Hunith, giving her a quick peck on her hair.

"When can he come home?" Hunith asked softy.

The doctor shifted on his feet and looked down on the patient record. "It all depends on how he's doing today. If his vitals stay normal and we're able to extubate the chest tube today, than he can go home the day after tomorrow.  _But_  we will only allow that if he stays on  _complete_  bed rest for at least the end of the week and  _no_  stress or exertion."

"Of course." Balinor answered.

The doctor looked at Balinor. "This is normally none of my business, but because it's for the Merlin's best interest, I have to discuss it."

Balinor looked confused, as did Hunith. She shook her head lightly and looked at the doctor with narrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

The doctor shifted once more on his feet. He looked down to the floor before looking up to Balinor. "It has come to my attention, that Merlin doesn't know that you're - his father and that you would want to tell him soon about it. And normally it would be a big shock already if someone finds out who his parent is after so many years, but considering your - occupation, it's probably wiser that you would tell him about it in the hospital. Again, it's none of my business when and where you'll be telling your son, but we have to remember that Merlin's heart had stopped, twice. Even though his rhythm is steady now, we won't know what would happen  _if_  Merlin would be reacting badly to the news. At least in the hospital professional help is close-by and then-"

"No, no. I understand." Balinor interfered. "We'll take your advice in consideration."

The doctor nodded and left the room

Balinor ran both hands across his face and through his short hair. "He has a point Hunith."

Hunith sighed. "I know." She felt a hand being placed on top of her thigh. "I know we said that we would wait until Winter break, but - I don't know. Maybe we should just tell him. It's not like we have any more options left. Either tell now or in three weeks during Winter break, it hardly makes a different does it?"

Balinor just nodded his head and only said, "But let's wait until  _after_  the tube is out."

**~oOoOo~**

Hunith had intended to stay a few minutes longer with Balinor, mostly discussing on how to break the news but mostly because she just loved to be in his presence. But those minutes turned out to be close to an hour and she only went from Balinor's side when one other bodyguard had informed them that Merlin was awake again. Arthur had passed that on to him.

Hunith entered the room, feeling bad for Balinor that he couldn't see his son. Yet.

She smiled though when she saw her son more or less awake. At least he seemed more present than an hour ago, but still he looked very tired. Merlin smiled back.

"How are you feeling hunnie?" Hunith whispered, running her hand through his hair once more.

"Like I've been shot." Merlin answered with a small sly smile on his lips. He got a small smack against his arm from his mother. Arthur just shook his head in response.

"Always having to make jokes do you? And now seriously,  _please_." She sent him a pointed look and sat down on the chair she hadn't left much these past days.

Merlin took a deep breath. "Tired." He breathed out. "And my side is a bit uncomfortable and sore." Merlin brought his hand up to lightly touch the bandage that was wrapped over the bullet wound. "And my skin is pulling slightly, but I can't really complain though. Things could've gone horrible wrong, I feel quite lucky."

"Well you're certainly being calm about it." Arthur retorted with a short chuckle. "'I think I would have screamed bloody murder if I'd be waking up with a bullet wound  _and_  a chest tube sticking out of me."

"Well a good thing then that I'm not you." Merlin grinned.

"So do you remember anything?" Hunith asked after a few minutes of silence.

Merlin shrugged with the shoulder of his unharmed side. "Bits and pieces. Not much. I remember Arthur walking backwards and then there was a loud sort of bang and then we turned around and that's pretty much it really."

"So you don't remember lying on the ground with me talking to you?" Arthur asked.

"No." Merlin answered. "Should I?"

"No. No it wasn't important. Just -" Arthur's voice started to crack. He took a deep breath. "I'm just happy that you're alright."

Merlin gave him a reassuring smile and lifted his hand to put over Arthur's, who's hand was lying on top of the blanket. Merlin's eyebrows drew together just slightly for a moment and Arthur looked at him with his head tilted.

"Merlin?" He asked. "Something wrong?"

Merlin stared a few moments ahead of him but then shook his head and came out of his daze. He grinned to Arthur. "It's… nothing. Must've been my imagination."

"What is?" Hunith asked, drawing closer.

"A dream." Merlin chuckled lightly. "A pretty messed up dream I guess. Your mind definitely makes weird connection when you're being unconscious."

Arthur and Hunith shared a look between the two of them. Merlin was babbling about something they didn't really understood. "A dream?" Hunith said. "About what?"

"You actually."

"Me?" Hunith responded, surprised tone clearly evident.

"Yeah you. And believe it or not, the King of Mercia." Merlin chuckled again with shaking his head in a playful way and he looked down at the duvet. Doing that, he didn't saw the alarming look going back and forth between his mother and boyfriend. Hunith had to keep her breathing calm and Arthur was silently encouraging to do so.

"I've only seen the man one time and am already putting you two together. Well I suppose you could do worse." Merlin prattled on, only looking briefly to his mother and because he was convinced on how ridiculously it sounded, he converted his mother's shocked expression for one of disgust. He laughed again and held his arm out, which could only just reach his mother's shoulder.

"Don't worry mum, I'd be a lousy Prince. For one I'd probably won't have enough patience to stand around for pictures."

Hunith simpered back at her son and swallowed into her starting to dry throat. She abruptly stood up, not being able to keep her hyperventilation in, that she felt bubbling up for Merlin for much longer. "I'll see if there's some tea."

"I'll help you. And I need to go to the loo anyways." Arthur said standing up and quickly coming up with an excuse to get out of the room.

Merlin still seemed oblivious to his mother's inner turmoil and instead sighed contently. "God yes. I could do with a cuppa."

**~oOoOo~**

Hunith stumbled out of the room, and not yet fell towards the wall opposite of the door. She supported herself at the wall, her breathing coming out in short quick breaths. Percy and Will looked concerned, but stayed at their spot in the hallway since Arthur was soon there next to her, as well as two other security guards that had been rushing towards her.

"My lady, is something wrong?

Balinor came quickly out of the adjacent room after seeing Hunith walk out the room, and saw Hunith now leaning against the wall. He quickly led her to the room he just came out of and set her down on a chair. One guard offered a cup of water and Balinor handed it over to her. She drank it but didn't say anything yet, still too shaken up. Arthur on the other hand pulled Balinor a bit to the side and explained what happened in the room.

Balinor gave a short nod and sat on his haunches in front of Hunith, he looked up to her and she looked back at him. He was pleased to see that she calmed down some more already. "You okay?" Balinor whispered. Hunith nodded softly.

"I am. It's just that - he was talking about you and I just. I don't know… I shouldn't be so paranoid about it. I mean he's going to learn about it soon…" Hunith took a deep breath and then blew it all out. "I'm just so worried on how he will react."

Balinor stood up and embraced Hunith while she still sat on the chair. He softly stroked through he curls. "We both are. And he's probably mad at first, but I just hope he'll accept in the end."

After some reassurances done from Balinor's part and telling her that he would call JJ again to tell that Merlin was doing better, Hunith pulled herself together and stood up to return to the room. She asked the security for some tea, because she couldn't come back empty handed. When Hunith and Arthur came back into the room, they found Merlin asleep once again. His mouth slightly open and when they were listening carefully they could detect a soft snoring sound.

**~oOoOo~**

It was later that evening that the doctors came for the final check-up of that day and seeing whether the tube could come out yet. It had taken Merlin a little longer to be more alert and awake, but now, close to nine o'clock the doctors deemed him responsive enough.

Hunith was allowed to be in the room, but Arthur was kindly asked to wait outside and so went to Balinor in the adjacent room. Arthur could see that the man was nervous and he had some idea on to  _why_. If all would go well, than he and Hunith would tell Merlin about his heritage. It was hard enough for him to learn about it, so he couldn't grasp on how hard it would be for both parents to tell it and for Merlin to accept it.  _If_  he would accept it.

He kept Balinor company and sent a group text to Will and Percy about the fact that Merlin was awake enough right now to get examined and they would hear whether the tube would get out or not.

Will and Percy had gone home, because they would go to school again the next day, and they still had some project to finish. They weren't that keen on going back though, because they heard from some classmates about how the paparazzi were basically camping out in front of the school and since they were Merlin's friends they were prime target to ambush with questions, but Balinor made sure to have some security agents follow the two boys as well.

Also, Will did need some time alone to get fully used to the idea that his best friend of the past five years was a Prince and right now it was just weird to him.

Arthur handed a cup of water over to Balinor who sat head in hands on one of the chairs. He briefly looked up when the cup was put in front of him and sent a brief smile to Arthur and muttered a, "Thanks."

"No problem." Arthur said and pulled up another chair to sit on. They sat in a comfortable silence for some minutes until Arthur turned to Balinor, he looked at him. Balinor sipped his drink quietly and seemed to be in thoughts. Arthur could only guess what was on his mind.

"Are you -" Arthur began, but stopped midsentence, not exactly knowing how to ask. In the end he decided just to be blunt. "Are you excited to be a parent?" Once he asked, he actually felt quite stupid, what kind of question was that to ask?

But how stupid he might've thought the question was, he did saw the corners of Balinor's lips curl up behind the rim of the cup.

Balinor lowered his cup and turned to Arthur with the smile still on his face. "I am. I really do. I mean, it all depends on Merlin if he wants to get to know me, but I really hope he will." Balinor sighed softly. "But I have to wait to find out. And right now, I just hope that my son is alright."

Arthur smiled softly about how he heard Balinor talking about Merlin with so much love already, even though he barely knew Merlin.

Hunith came into the room minutes later with a big smile on her face. "The tube is out." She said while entering. "It only took seconds and now he has a bandage over the wound, but that should heal pretty soon." She made her way to Balinor and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'll go to him." Arthur muttered when he saw the two persons caught up in each other. He wanted to see Merlin again and he also wanted to leave, to avoid the smooching the two in love would most definitely do within the next minute. When Arthur entered the room, there was a nurse putting the last hand on the sling Merlin had gotten. But what Arthur made really happy was that Merlin was actually sitting up instead of lying flat on his back. He couldn't help it that he burst out in a full blown grin.

The nurse was finished her job and left the room, simply nodding towards Arthur as she passed him. Arthur made his way to Merlin, who although sitting up was leaning heavily against the backrest. "How're you feeling?" Arthur asked and sat down next to Merlin on the small bed.

"Better now." Merlin whispered and leaned to the side to rest his head on Arthur's shoulder. "I have to wear this stupid sling so I won't move my arm too much, which sucks because you know how much I use my arms when I talk."

Arthur heard Merlin sigh softly and it made him chuckle. He would've put his arm around him if Merlin wouldn't be injured, but since he was he opted for just linking the fingers of their hands together. "I'm sure you'll manage without the excessive hand gestures." Arthur said with a soft chuckle. "And besides, I think you got shot on purpose. Now I'm  _obligated_  to help you."

Merlin scoffed and lifted his head off Arthur's shoulder. Arthur could detect a small grin on Merlin's face. "Oi! I took a bullet for you and this is what I get. Some more gratitude is in order don't you think?"

Arthur leaned forward and left a feather light kiss in Merlin's neck. He drew back to see Merlin's reaction. "Is this a good way to start?" Arthur whispered and leaned forward again, leaving another light kiss. He felt that Merlin had tensed up slightly at the first kiss, but with the second Arthur felt him relax some more. Arthur heard Merlin's breath hitch up just the tiniest bit and he grinned against Merlin's skin. He deepened the kiss on his skin, starting from Merlin's right collarbone up to his neck and then his jawline. He kept on pecking kisses and nipping at the skin, right until the corner of Merlin's mouth. He tilted his head back once more to look in Merlin's eyes and slowly let his hand glide over Merlin's right arm right up to his neck.

Neither of them said anything, they just looked at each other. Softly breathing in and out.

Arthur curled his hand behind Merlin's neck and softly pushed him forward until their lips met. It was all Arthur cared for right now. No Prince business, no drama, just being with Merlin was all he wanted and needed right this moment. He was happy that Merlin's recovery went so well already and all his worries and doubts disappeared with this one kiss. It was such a small thing but with so much meaning.

They were interrupted by the door opening and immediately Merlin pulled away. His eyes shot to the door and saw his mother standing there. "Mum! I - er. This isn't -" He tried to think of excuses.

Hunith put up her hand. "Merlin, don't worry. I  _know_." She smiled. Merlin seemed to have completely forgotten about how she saw Arthur kiss her son when he first woke up. Maybe he was still a bit woozy and unfocused at that moment.

Merlin just stared at her and then back at Arthur. He gulped deeply. He knew that his mother was alright (for now) that he spent time with Arthur, but he would never imagine that she would be  _fine_  of him being in a relationship with him. He would've told her eventually but wasn't counting on it to be right now. And he didn't know how to respond to the fact that she somehow knew about his relationship with Arthur and the fact that seeming perfectly fine with it. How was that even possible, he just thought that his mother was mostly playing the part of accepting Arthur, but he couldn't trace any discomfort in her face or posture and she seemed  _definitely_  okay with it.

But before Merlin could voice his thoughts, he saw his mother stepping forward and looking at Arthur first. She gave Arthur a soft nod and her facial expression  _did_  change to something Merlin couldn't really specify. He furrowed his brows and it deepened ever more when Arthur turned back to look at him and he saw that Arthur wore a same kind expression. Then, Arthur stood up and went to stand next to Hunith.

"W-what's going on?" Merlin asked softly. His eyes kept going back and forth between his mother and boyfriend. "Mum?"

Hunith breathed in deeply though her nose and turned to walk to the door. Merlin shook his head in not understanding what was happening and looked at Arthur, silently asking for some kind of explanation, but he didn't got one. All that happened was that the door opened and he thought he had lost his mind - or his sight at the very least.

Because it had to be an illusion, it couldn't really be the King of Mercia standing there. Merlin blinked several times, thinking he had some problems with his eyes or was imagining things, but each time he opened them he saw indeed the King.

Hunith hand slid into Balinor's and he squeezed it for reassurance. She glanced up to her son. "Merlin. There's something you should know."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin stared at the covers. He didn't blinked, he didn't moved, he barely breathed and he just kept staring down.

"Merlin,  _please_  say something." Hunith pleaded and gripped Balinor's arm tighter in both her arms. She looked up to him in desperation, she needed to know what to do now.

Telling Merlin about his heritage was harder than she thought. The sadness her son's eyes had once she said that Balinor was his father was an image she would never be able to erase from her mind. As was the disappointed look he gave her for being lied too. It was too much for her to handle, but the silence Merlin gave her was the hardest of it all. She would've expected that her son would throw a tantrum, would shout, throw stuff, anything really but not this silence and it may have been the most excruciating outcome.

Then Merlin tilted his head up, but he didn't made any eye contact with any of the three persons in the room. Instead he turned his head to the wall. "Please leave." Was all he said, with the fingers of his right hand fidgeting with the top of the covers.

Arthur stepped forward, but Merlin's head snapped up to him. "You too." He not yet growled. Merlin's eyes held enough anger to get Arthur step back and Merlin went back at staring to the wall.

Balinor did try to give some reason but made the mistake (in Merlin's eyes) to address Merlin as 'son'.

Merlin shook his head, scoffed and he let the covers go only to bawl his hand into a fist. He stared Balinor deep into his eyes. "Don't. You have no -" They all could hear how Merlin's voice began to crack. Merlin looked away. "Just let me be alone now." He turned onto his injured side even when it gave him much discomfort, but right now he could care less about it.

Hunith stepped forward "Merlin -" But Balinor gently grabbed her arm and shook his head to her and gently pulled her out of the room. Arthur silently followed and closed to door.

The security in the hallway didn't move a muscle, but they couldn't say that they weren't curious on how it went. But they could've guessed how by just thinking how much time went by. It might've been eight minutes at most, that couldn't have meant a whole world of good.

Hunith buried her face into Balinor's chest and softly muttered, "We should've waited Balinor. We should've waited."

With her still in his arms, Balinor led her to the room next door. He stroked her hair and softly shushed her with reassurances. "It's okay Hunith. He would've found out sooner or later. It was time, it had been long enough. He needs some time to get used to it. He's fine." And so the reassurances went on.

Arthur still stood in the hallway and he needed time on his own. He kept seeing the look Merlin gave him, like he had just betrayed him. And perhaps he sort of did. He didn't told Merlin that he knew about him even it was just barely a day that he found out himself.

He knew he just should've told Merlin, but Balinor and Hunith had asked him not too, not until  _they_ had told him and he had respected that, but now he wasn't so sure of his decision.

"Leon." Arthur said and the agent was right at his side. "Please take me home." Leon nodded and led Arthur to a somewhat private exit that wasn't covered with news reporters or paparazzi.

In the hospital room, Merlin silently wept. He didn't know what to do with the information he just heard. And all he could think off was how everyone around him had been lying to him his whole life, the people he thought he could trust with his life just stabbed him right in the back. How could they keep this from him, what had he done to deserve that?

He turned to lie on his back, the skin around his shoulder area hurting from where he'd been putting his weight on. The skin was pulling and was hurting, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain he felt from the betrayal.

And now he was just supposed to believe everything his mother and his…  _father -_  supposedly- said. Like really… he was a Prince, who even makes that up. And why keep it from him. No  _why_  did his mother act like every royal was some fucking bad person, while  _he_  was one. Did his mother hate him too? Did his mother rather have that he wasn't born at all?

He choked back a sob. His eyes slowly closing against his will. He tried to fight it, but ultimately his eyes slid close. He was emotionally drained.

**~oOoOo~**

Balinor and Hunith had been going to Balinor's home in London for the night. They needed rest -in a bed, rather than the chairs in the hospital- and needed to freshen up. They wanted to go to Hunith's house, but they found out through the security that her house was swarmed with news-sharks.

Balinor made sure that he made arrangements with his security and the local police that the street would be cleared from any news reporter, paparazzi or any other spectator when Merlin would be going home today. Hunith and Balinor decided that it would be better for Merlin to be in his own home, especially after witnessing the reaction Merlin had yesterday after hearing the news. If they would go to Balinor's house, it would not end good they believed.

Balinor beckoned Lancelot to follow him into the room. Once the door had closed, he asked, "How did the night go?"

Always professional, Lancelot kept his stance. Standing up straight and hand clasped in front of him. But like always, his expression was soft and compassionate. "The Prince had been visited once by his doctor, but he was asleep at that time. The doctor will be here shortly to speak to you sir, he wasn't permitted to share any information with me."

"No. no, of course. Thank you Lancelot."

The guard left the room silently and only moments later the door opened again. It was Merlin's doctor, he nodded once to Balinor and Hunith before sitting down and opening the patient folder on his lap and went straight to the point. "I've examined Merlin early this morning, he was asleep at the time and woke up just once during the examination but somehow went straight back to sleep. I've assessed his wounds and they don't hold any sign of infections or blood loss, so that's good." The doctor waited a second before asking, "I understood that you've told your son about his parentage?"

Both Hunith and Balinor nodded at the question and the doctor continued at that. "It doesn't seem to have any effect on him, physically at least. His heart rate and blood pressure are normal and his breathing doesn't seem to be irregular. However, I cannot judge on his mental wellbeing, but I reckon if you give him time to adjust to the idea he should come round soon."

"We hope so too." Hunith softly whispered.

"And." Balinor began. "Can he come home today?"

Doctor Pearson looked down at the record, scanning a few notes before lifting his head up. "It would've liked to keep him here a day longer, but seeing that his condition was stable for the last two days, I allow him to go home if that's what you want. But under no circumstances he is allowed to move around or lift things. He needs to be on complete bed rest for at least the rest of the week, to not agitate the wounds."

"No, of course. We will make sure of that."

The doctor stood up and stretched out his arm. "I will examine him one last time and if I deem him strong enough, I will ready the discharge paper and he is allowed to leave after he had breakfast."

Balinor shook the man's hand completed with a nodding of his head. Hunith shook the man's hand as well and both watched the doctor leave and close the door.

Hunith put her hand over Balinor's, she squeezed it lightly. "Maybe it's better if I alone go home with him. If he's at home we can properly explain our story."

Balinor sighed. "You're probably right. He didn't reacted that well to me yesterday. Besides, I need to talk about some security improvements with Lancelot, but I'll make sure that there is a car ready to bring you two home. I'll come about thirty minutes later to give Merlin some time to get comfortable. I don't want to be in the house when you two arrive and him thinking that I'm forcing myself into his life. I want him to get to know me, because he wants too."

Hunith nodded and leaned forward. She kissed Balinor softly on the lips. "I just hope we can be a family soon." Hunith whispered when she pulled back. Balinor gave her a small smile.

"Me too Hunith. Me too."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin was walking back and forth through the hospital room with the help of the nurse called Elena, who had tended to him the last couple of days. The doctors made some notes about it in the patient's record and then left the room. Merlin's legs felt weak after days of not using them, and he felt like he needed a lifetime supply of oxygen that tired he felt and he was about to give up, but kept going as he was being encouraged by Elena.

"Just a few more times and then you're done for the day." Elena said brightly.

Three more times and Elena brought him back to the bed where he sat heavily down on, slightly panting. She filled a cup with water and gave it to him. "You did great!" She said with a big smile. "If you'll do this every day for about five minutes and gradually build it up, you should be running around in no time."

Merlin couldn't help but chuckle at that. It was hard to stay frustrated around Elena. She was kind, sweet and was never in a bad mood. At least not in the two days he had seen her.

"Well, to be honest I'd already be happy if I could just walk without being out of breath." He gulped the cup down in one swallow and placed it on the tray.

Elena turned to him and shook her head. "Don't be so negative. You're like a miracle!"

Merlin snorted at that.

"No, I mean it." Elena continued. "Don't you know how lucky you are? Most patients I have seen that have been shot had to be in the hospital for about a week before they were finally allowed to go home. You're out of here in just  _three_  days Merlin. You should feel lucky." She picked up the tray with the now empty breakfast plate and shifted onto one hand. She placed the hand of her free arm on Merlin's shoulder and squeezed it for good measurement. "I know you think everything sucks right now, but give it some time and before you know it you can see sense in life again. Trust me." She nodded and smiled and walked out of the door, leaving Merlin alone with his thoughts.

He was sure that Elena wasn't talking about his injury, he knew she was talking about him being… he couldn't even say it, it still sounded like someone made it up. Like someone deliberately wanted to mess with him and his life.

Well someone did and not just  _someone_. His mother of all people.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the door opening once again.

 _Speak of the devil_. Merlin thought when he saw his mother entering the room… rather cautiously might he add. A scowl was immediately on his face. He still couldn't understand why his mother would lie and mislead him for the past eighteen years. And if she thought she would be just forgiven in one day, well than she was in for some disappointment, because he certainly wasn't planning on forgiving his mother just like that.

"I - I got the discharge papers." Hunith said softly. "Are you ready to go home?"

Merlin scoffed and stood up. "Which home? Ours, or some palace with all the bells and whistles? You know what, I don't even  _want_  to know. Just let's go." He turned around to compose himself just a little bit. But when he turned back around, he grimaced slightly as his arm jostled in the sling with the motion. Merlin pushed his shoulder forward to release some tension of the skin. His mother was at his side the moment she saw her son's face change and put a hand on his lower arm, but he pulled his arm away.

"Merlin please -"

Merlin wasn't even sure what she pleaded for and he didn't wait around to find out. He just stalked off to the door and when he opened it he was being stared at by eight persons dressed in black suits and one person he recognized in particular. Tom, Percy's brother. "Great, just fucking great." Merlin muttered under his breath.

Tom stepped forward. "Your highness please follow me."

"Don't call me that." Merlin grumbled, but somehow found it within him to just follow the guard. Maybe it was some curiosity buried deep inside him. But mostly because he told himself that he only did it because he wanted to get out of this place so he could set his plan in motion. Hunith quietly followed the pair and they were led to the same private exit Arthur had taken and there was already a car waiting.

Merlin got in and buckled his seatbelt. He made sure he would sit at the right, so the belt wouldn't agitate his sore side. He kept staring out of the window once the car started to move, not giving his mother or the two guards in the front seats any attention. He saw the immense crowd of people with and without cameras that had gathered in front of the hospital. So great, everyone in the country, possibly the world, knew about him before  _he_  even knew about himself. This just made him more determined to go through with his plan; to leave as soon as possible from all the people that lied to him.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin knew that they were close to his home. The whole drive he hadn't said much, the only thing he had asked was where his phone was, which his mother gave to him. He then returned in ignoring everybody and looked through the messages he got. He got plenty -too many to count- messages from Arthur, telling him that he was sorry that he hadn't said anything. Merlin just scoffed at them.

There were some messages from Will, Percy and some people from school he sometimes spoke too. There were many  _many_  missed calls. All numbers were unknown to him, but he could just guess what the calls were about. He turned his phone off with a deep sigh and shoved it as best as he could into his pocket.

They drove on and were almost home when the car accidently drove through a bump in the road and making Merlin grunt with pain.

Tom looked into his rear-view mirror. "Your Highness, are you alright?"

"I told you.  _Don't_  call me that." Merlin muttered and readjusted the strap of the sling his arm rested in. The skin was itching and pulling and it drove him close to insanity. But he could finally see the street his house was in. Merlin saw that the street was cordoned off by police cars and motorcycles and was amazed by how many people and paparazzi and news reporters had gathered around just behind the barriers. They all wanted to see  _him_  and it made him slightly anxious.

He couldn't wait to get out of the car and into the house when the car drove up at the driveway. But he didn't had a key with him, so he  _had_  to wait until his mother would  _finally_  get out of the car and open the sodding door. When she had finally done that, he bolted out of the car. He was quickly followed by his mother and the two guards, but they kept standing in front of the house once Hunith told them it was better not to follow.

As soon as Merlin had entered the house, he made his way upstairs. It was difficult after not using his limbs for several days and he was already starting to get out of breath when he finally made it up and into his room. He ignored his mother's pleadings to talk to her, instead he slammed the door shut, turned on his TV on some random channel and turned the volume up loudly.

He felt the need to punch something, scream, anything. So he did. He shouted out a frustrated growl as he punched the wall his bed was pushed up against.

He sat down on his bed and cradled his arm onto his lap. His knuckles were red, but the skin hadn't broke by the impact. He looked around his room, normally it was so messy, but now, for once, he had cleaned it up. Just for Arthur.

Arthur.

How long had he known about him?

Was it all since the start? Had their relationship been just a joke to him?

Merlin shook his head. That couldn't be… but the longer he thought about it, the more likely it was to him. Because, why else would someone like Arthur fall for someone like him. Arthur would never even bat an eyelash at him if it wasn't because of his title as Prince of Mercia. And all that talking Arthur did about  _hating_  his titles was just a way to let him feel comfortable around Arthur.

Merlin wiped a stubborn tear from his eye. He wouldn't let Arthur change his mind. He would be leaving this country as soon as possible, and start his life somewhere else. Somewhere where no one knew him. Maybe go the States, maybe to some Asian country. He wasn't sure yet, but it didn't matter to him. He had nearly lived all over the world and he knew many languages. Besides, he was eighteen, almost nineteen, he was considered an adult in most countries.

Merlin looked around him, looking for the bag that held his passport and his emergency credit card and he was conviced that this was an emergency, if not national crisis! He would just use it to buy a ticket and withdraw some money and then put it away to leave as little trace behind.

He saw the duffle bag. Stuffed under his desk after he and his mum came back from holiday almost six months ago. His intention was to put it away later, but seeing that he wasn't the most efficient person in the world, he simply forgot. But now the bag was needed. He would stuff some clothes in it and go away. Away from everyone who lied to him. His heritage be damned!

He picked up the bag and his laptop from the desk and walked back to his bed and flipped open the laptop lid. He waited a few seconds for it to start up and used those seconds to search for the credit card and his passport.

As soon as the Google webpage was completely loaded, he went to the first airline company's website that popped up into his mind and searched for the first flight that would leave in about ninety minutes. He believed that it was enough time for him to go to the airport and go through security checks.

He looked through the time tables and saw the first possible option. In this case it was Rome and Merlin was okay with that. He knew some Italian, he would be fine.

He flipped open his passport and his eyes immediately fell onto his full name and in particular his second name. Linor - Balinor. Why did he never made that connection!

He angrily typed in his details and pressed print. He just thanked the lords that he had insisted once that he wanted to have a silent printer, it hardly made any sound when it was printing off the ticket and the loud noise from the TV muffled it even more. He walked to his printer and pulled the sheet of paper out of the tray and folded it in half and shoved it into his bag. He pulled some clothes from his closet and pushed them into his bag in the same fashion as he did with the ticket.

He was running on adrenaline and anger. Not a good combination.

He zipped the bag close with the use of only one arm and sat down onto his bed. His breathing coming harsh through his nose. He looked down at the stupid sling and gently pulled it over his head.

Now he needed some disguise. If the amount of reporters was anything to go by, his face would've been all around the news.

He was scouring in his closet, he knew that there was a hoodie somewhere. He had meant to throw it out some months ago, but he had just forgotten about it. He found it, somewhere at the bottom of his closet and gently pushed the arm of his injured side through the sleeve and yanked the rest over his head.

He sat down again. He needed to find a way to get out of the house unnoticed and after a minute he had the perfect plan.

He would climb out of the window in his mother's bedroom which was above the neighbour's garage. He could walk over it and lower himself from it. And there was a small patch of woods behind his house that would lead to the main road. He could go through that and flag down a taxi and go to the airport or station once he got to the road.

His fists clenched together again. Why didn't he see it sooner? How could he just believe his mother when she told him when he was younger, that she had inherited money from an uncle and that that the reason was they could afford all those things, like their expensive London house and the expenses they made when they lived all around the world. But now, now he knew  _where_  she got all her money from. Not from some uncle but from the Mercian King, no - his  _father_.

He looked at the bag again. His fingers were already itching to grab it, but still something held him back from actually picking it up and he couldn't determine exactly  _what_  it was that held him back.

He waited a minute longer to think about it and then he made up his mind.

 


	15. Hidden Royalty Chapter Fifteen

Merlin grabbed the bag handle into his hand and stood up from his bed. He looked around him for one last time and sighed deeply. This would be the last time he would see his room.

He was contemplating whether or not to write a note, but then decided against it. He just wanted to leave as soon as possible and he didn't care that he would leave without so much as a goodbye.

He purposely left the TV on, just to make it look like he was still in his room. He grabbed his phone from his bed and shoved it into his pocket. He had made sure that his ticket and passport were in the bag and knew that he was now good to go. He ignored the feeling that told him that he should just blow off the plan and stay instead. But the problem was that he just didn't want to stay any longer in the presence of liars. Sure he was not saint himself, but he hadn't told lies that was as huge as this one was.

He opened the door as quiet as possible and slipped out, quietly pulling the door shut again. He tiptoed over the mezzanine and heard his mother's voice from downstairs. Apparently she was on the phone, but Merlin didn't know who… well he had a feeling who it was.

He heard some snippets of the conversation as he made his way towards his mother's bedroom and was thanking his luck once more that the door was already open since it had the tendency to creak if you wanted to open it.

_"He went into his room. I leave him alone until you are here, and then we can try to-"_

Merlin didn't heard the last of it, as he quietly slipped into his mother's bedroom. He breathed in deeply, now the most difficult thing of his plan would happen. He slowly turned the handle of the window to avoid creaking and slowly pushed the window open. He waited a few seconds, waiting to see whether his mother heard something. But when he didn't hear anything he turned to the open window and looked out of it. The neighbour's garage was as good as beneath his mother's window, he just needed to step on the ledge and then stretch out his legs to reach the top of the garage.

He picked up his bag and gave it a good swing and released it. It landed on top of the garage. Now he needed to climb out of the window himself. In his head the execution went far better. He had momentarily forgot that the smallest jostle of his upper body would cause quite a stabbing pain through his side. But he wouldn't let that stand in his way right now. Five minutes of pain was worth more than staying in the house.

Merlin breathed in and out a few times, gathering up enough strength and preparing himself for the pain he was sure he would get. He gave himself a nod as if to say he was ready and pushed the arm of his injured side flush against his body, grimacing slightly as he did that. He was tall enough to just sit on the window sill without climbing on top of it first. He then bit his lower lip to not cry out when he lowered himself onto the small ridge below the window and then when he stretched his legs towards the garage, keeping himself steady by holding the windowsill with the arm of his uninjured side. When his foot made contact with the solid surface he swayed body towards it and he landed on the garage with a small grunt and tears sprang into his eyes.

He laid panting and softly sobbing on top of the garage for more than a minute until he thought himself fit enough to get up and face his last difficult obstacle, namely getting  _down_  from the garage. He looked around him first to check if there weren't people around who could spot him and only when he was satisfied that there weren't, he walked to the ridge and he was lucky once more. The dumpsters were placed against the garage and he would easily slide off the roof of the garage and onto them and then lower himself to the ground. He couldn't have hoped for anything better!

When he was on solid ground his side hurt a little bit less than the jump he did from the window to the garage and he felt good enough to immediately go to the woods. He didn't run, but he wasn't sauntering either and soon he passed the first line of trees. He had been going through this small patch of woods a million time before, so he hadn't difficulties to find his way. Feeling defiant, Merlin started to jog a little faster but having jogged just a few feet, he knew that that wasn't the best thing to do. He felt the skin around his wounds tightening and his stomach starting to churn. He stopped and leaned with his back against the bark of a tree, trying to control his breathing and hoping that he wouldn't throw up.

He got his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. There were four new messages from Arthur and now also two voicemails from him. He couldn't bring himself to listen them. Instead he looked at the time. His flight was to leave in seventy-eight minutes and he still was about twenty minutes away from the airport. He took far longer to get out of the house than he initially anticipated, but now he needed to get a move on if he still wanted to catch his flight.

He felt the nauseous feeling dying down, just like his side and shoulder area, but it was still noticeable. He breathed deeply in through his nose. He might need five minutes until he would be at the main road and then it was just hoping that there would be any taxi's available.

Merlin grabbed his bag again and pulled the hoodie over his head just to be sure. He would almost be surrounded by people and he didn't know how well known his face would already be.

His side proved to be more painful than he initially thought it would've been and not only that, he was beginning to get tired once he reached the main road. He told himself that he had to hold on for about thirty minutes and then he could rest.

Cars, busses and taxi's whizzed past him, but he didn't saw any available cab. He'd almost given up in flagging down a cab when he tried one last time and this time he saw the blinker light up and the cab pulled up next to him. Sighing in relieve Merlin got in.

"Where to laddie?" The heavily gum chewing cab driver asked as he drove away from the kerb.

"Err. Heathrow Airport." Merlin answered.

The cabbie gave a confirming nod and turned the volume of the radio just a little bit up. Merlin saw the busy London traffic go by and just hoped that he would made the airport in time, fortunally he didn't live all too far from the airport.

The radio blasted some music but since it was close to the hour, the news would start any minute now. Merlin hoped that  _he_  wouldn't be mentioned, but that hope was shattered when the news segment started and he was one of the first to be mentioned. He tried not to listen to it, but in the end he did catch a few sentences.

**_"A spokesperson from the Royal family of Mercia has just announced that the Prince had been released from the hospital early this morning. Spectators were disappointed to have missed sight of the, until now, hidden Prince and hope to catch sight of him in his London home of which the address has been leaked out…"_ **

Luckily they had reached the destination before the whole segment was finished. Merlin just thought it was just too weird to hear people talking about  _him_  on national news. He thrust some notes into the cabbie's hand and exited the cab as soon as he could and into the airport hall.

With the bag in his hand he looked up to the information boards, searching for his flight. There were just forty-three minutes left. He'd be certainly pushing it.

**~oOoOo~**

Back in his home, Hunith just opened her front door to let Balinor and Arthur in. Balinor told Hunith that he had called Arthur and asked him to come too, maybe he would have a better chance in getting through to Merlin. Hunith walked them to the sitting room and offered some tea that she already prepared. They could all hear the loud music coming from Merlin's TV upstairs.

Arthur sat his cup down and stood up. "I'll see if he wants to talk to me." He said grimly. Hunith nodded, putting her head down onto Balinor's shoulders.

"This is all my fault." Hunith said softly once Arthur was out of the room. "If I had just told him earlier than he might've not reacted this way." She sighed deeply again and Balinor put his hand on top of her leg.

"Don't say that Hunith, you had your reasons for not telling and I'm sure Merlin will understand that once he heard the whole story. You'll see."

Hunith tilted her head up but couldn't bring herself to smile. Neither she or Balinor had time to say something else because they heard harsh footsteps on the stairs and moments later Arthur not yet fell into the room.

"Merlin's gone!"

Hunith stood up, frowning. "What do you mean, gone?"

Arthur flapped his arms around. "Just… gone."

Hunith pushed Arthur aside and moved upstairs, followed by Arthur and Balinor. She ran up to Merlin's room and looked around. Merlin was not there, just like Arthur said. She yelled his name but got no response. She looked around the room again, now more critically. She saw that her son's closet door was open and it looked like someone had been rummaging through it.

The next thing she felt a shiver over her back when a gust of wind blew into the house. She turned and walked out of the room, ignoring Balinor's question what was wrong. She walked to her own bedroom and once she saw the open window she knew what had happened. She shook her head in disbelieve and put her head into her hands. From behind, Balinor placed his hands on her upper arms.

"What is it?" He whispered.

"He's gone." She muttered as she turned around. "He has done this before, but now he's…" She took a shivering breath. "Balinor he's injured, what if… what if something happens?" Hunith placed her head onto Balinor's chest who immediately embraced her.

"We'll find him." He murmured and picked his phone out of the pocket of his jacket and pressed one button. Seconds later he heard the door opening and the steps of the stair creaking.

Lancelot entered the room. "Sir?"

"I want you to trace Merlin's phone. Immediately." Lancelot inclined his head, muttering into his headset as he left the room.

Hunith had set herself down on her bed, she was on the verge of tears in not knowing where her son was and if he was alright. Balinor came to sit next to her and rested on hand onto her leg. Arthur kept standing close the door opening, he wasn't sure what he was about to do. There wasn't much he could do.

Hunith was now sobbing softly. "What if something happens again Balinor? He's my baby, I can't -"

"Shh." Balinor softly tried to soothe her and kept her close in his embrace. "We will find him."

The door opened again. "Sire." Lancelot said and made his way to his King. Balinor immediately stood up and gave him a nod to continue.

"He's at Heathrow airport." Lancelot answered.

Arthur gasped quietly. "But he can't travel! He's…" Arthur didn't finished his sentence, instead bolted out of the room with his phone in his hand. He called his own security, telling them to start the car and that they would have to drive him to Heathrow airport.

Balinor and Hunith heard what Arthur had said and Balinor looked up to Lancelot who nodded in response. He knew what the King was asking from him. He was to go to the airport immediately. "I make sure he'll return safely." He inclined his head towards Balinor and Hunith. "Sir, my Lady."

Tires of multiple SUV's screech to a halt as they came to the front of the airport. English and Mercian security guards poured out of the cars with the English security forming a protective circle around the Prince . The Mercian guards followed closely behind them, after all they weren't there to protect the British Prince, they were there to protect the Mercian.

**~oOoOo~**

_"Last call for passengers for flight_ _BA0560_ _to Rome."_

Merlin heard the announcement and made the gate just in time to board the flight. Nobody had recognized him during security nor anyone else on the airport, although he had seen one custom officer watching him intently at one checkpoint, but he hadn't said anything to him and just let him through.

Now he was about to enter the plane, doubt was suddenly starting to get to him. It hit him like a cold bucket of water. He was being stupid, running away like he was some criminal and acting the way he had.

He was a Prince and perhaps he should just accept that, it couldn't be  _that_  bad. Right? But it was the principle of being lied too that was making him feel angry. But perhaps his mother had a good reason to keep it from him, after all she had  _never_  lied to him, it was just not in her nature to do so. He needed to think now, scolding at himself for not thinking earlier, but acting rationally instead.

But there was no time to think because the next thing he heard was,

"Boarding pass and passport please." The flight attendant asked him once he reached the front of him. He wasn't even aware that he had reached the front. He looked at the flight attendant and then down at his boarding pass and now he was confused. Should he stay or should he go?

**~oOoOo~**

Flanked by his guards, Arthur arrived out of breath by the gate. People that were passing by started to mutter when they saw the Crown Prince.

Arthur had perhaps threaten a man or two to tell him which flight Merlin took, and in the end he got the information he needed, but they told him that the plane would probably have left before he was even be able to reach the gate. And now having arrived at the gate, that assumption was true.

Arthur saw that the door leading to the jetway was already closed and screens close-by said that the plane was taxying.

"Nonono." Arthur muttered more to himself than to anyone else and sprinted to the window. He saw the plane making speed and moments later taking off. Frustrated, he slammed his palm flat against the window and growled.

"Merlin, why did you leave?" Arthur said to no one in particular and let his head fall against the glass.

Leon was already stepping forward to give Arthur some comfort, when he heard it.

"I haven't."

Leon's head snapped simultaneously with Arthur's towards the direction the voice came from. On a seat just a few feet away from him sat Merlin, looking tired, dishevelled and maybe even a little bit lost.

Merlin pushed the hoodie of his blue jumper down from his head and lifted his head highter to get a better look at Arthur. Arthur immediately sprinted towards him, much like the group of Mercian agents who made sure to flank their Prince from all positions.

However, when Arthur neared Merlin, Merlin stood up with a small grimace and placed his hand on Arthur's chest when Arthur was close to him, effectively holding him at some distance. Arthur frowned and looked down to the hand before looking back at Merlin.

"Merlin…?" He hesitantly asked.

Merlin lowered his hand and looked down to the ground. "How long?" Was the only thing he said at which Arthur frowned some more because he didn't know what Merlin meant. When Merlin didn't got an answer within some seconds, he asked again. Now with a bit more explanation.

"How long did you know that I was a…" Merlin just sighed, still having difficulties to say the word out loud.

Arthur swallowed. He could've known that Merlin would be angry at him too and he  _tried_  to tell Merlin, but Merlin wouldn't answer his calls so he couldn't explain himself. But now was as good a time as any. He took a small step forward, hoping that Merlin wouldn't walk away.

He didn't.

"Merlin, I didn't know." Arthur saw that Merlin slowly lifted his head but didn't made eye contact yet. "I found out the day before you… It was on the news." Arthur added low at which Merlin now looked at him. His eyes moving all over Arthur's face to see any signs of him lying, but Merlin couldn't find any.

He lowered his gaze again. "Why didn't you told me when I was awake?" Merlin asked softly.

"I wanted too!" Arthur said, grabbing Merlin's hands into his own. He sighed. "But your…" He paused a second, but then decided to say it. "Your  _parents_  asked me not too." Arthur looked down at their hands and he let go. However, he was surprised when Merlin reached forward to grab them again.

"Please, believe me." Arthur pleaded in a soft voice just above a whisper.

Merlin shook his head softly. "I don't know who to believe anymore." He muttered at which Arthur tightened the grip and stepped even closer to Merlin. There were so many guards forming a circle around him that he knew that most of the view would be blocked from curious onlookers.

"Believe me." Arthur whispered, their heads just mere inches apart. He felt bold and closed the distance between them and placed his lips lightly against Merlin's and was waiting for the moment that Merlin would push him away, but it didn't happen. Instead Merlin deepened the kiss, but just for a few seconds before he broke the kiss and laid his head onto Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur released one hand from Merlin's and gently embraced him, trying not to push himself too hard against him.

"I don't know what to do anymore." Merlin muttered against Arthur's shoulder. He lifted his head with a deep inhale through his nose and Arthur knew it was Merlin trying to keep himself from crying. He gently pushed Merlin towards the chair he had occupied minutes earlier.

"Everyone close to me -  _lied_ to me. My  _mother_  lied to me. She told me that my father wasn't important and that I shouldn't worry about him. Why would she say that? she could've told me that he is a King. I had the right to know!" He stood up again from the chair and turned to Arthur. "You have no idea how it feels to know that your whole life has been a complete lie. I don't even know who I can trust anymore."

Merlin turned around with a sniff and started to walk away, leaving Arthur behind. Merlin was followed by Tom and Lancelot and at least six other security guards.

Arthur stared at Merlin's retreating figure. He couldn't let him leave, not again. He never felt  _anything_  this strong for one person and he couldn't let that go, he wouldn't know what would happen if Merlin would walk out of his life now. So without even thinking about it, Arthur stood up and ran after Merlin until he had surpassed him and now  _he_  was the one to push his hands against Merlin's chest to stop him. Merlin looked back up to him with some kind of desperation.

"Don't leave… stay with me." Arthur pleaded in a small voice. He'd never had fought for any other before, but he just needed to be with Merlin, even though it had been some mere months that he had known Merlin. He just knew that he was the man he had to be with. Call it destiny, call it fate, call it whatever you like, but he knew it and he hoped that Merlin would just feel that way about him too.

By now a crowd had formed around them and the security guards had their work cut out to keep all the onlookers at a respectable distance.

When Arthur saw that Merlin didn't moved forward anymore, he brought his hands up to Merlin's face and cradled it between his hands and he gently kissed Merlin again. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Merlin's. "Please. Just, stay."

Merlin stepped back, looking away from Arthur. "It doesn't matter Arthur. I'm not cut out for  _this_." He waved one arm in front of him, like giving meaning to everything that had happened in the last days. "I am not even sure  _if_  I wanted to be a - a Prince."

He said it. Out loud. It was strange and weird and he wasn't feeling comfortable with it at all and he just wanted to leave, but Arthur blocked his way rather persistently.

Arthur heaved one hand up to cup one side of Merlin's face and pushed it lightly so he made Merlin look at him. Once Merlin made eye contact, Arthur softly stroked his thumb over the skin of Merlin's cheekbone. "But you stayed. You must've had a reason for that."

Merlin swallowed before he answered, "It was you. You made me stay. I was on the plane and was preparing myself for the new life I was going to build. I just wanted to be away from all the liars. But then I saw a couple sitting two rows in front of me, and deep inside I knew that that was what I really wanted. And I  _had_  that - with you. Arthur I know we are barely in a relationship, but there's just something about us that just feels  _right._  And I know I have been distant and not allowing you or myself to completely commit to it, and I said that it was because of the things in my life, and that was partially true, but it was really because I just didn't want to ruin what we had by going too fast." He sighed deeply for what must've been the umpteenth time that day.

"Arthur, I'm just scared what will happen if I'm going to be the Prince everyone seems to be expecting me to be. What if I have to leave the country and never see you again? And I'm not even sure why I should accept it, I mean I'm just a normal guy, I'm not special."

Arthur stepped forward and once more embraced the slimmer man. "But you  _are_ , Merlin. Never think otherwise. You're born to be a Prince and you might be scared at first to have so many people that see you as their role model, but Merlin they couldn't have gotten a better one than you. You will put  _me_  to shame!"

Despite the situation, Merlin couldn't help to softly chuckle at that.

"Merlin, I cannot force you to do anything. But I'm asking you to go back home and talk to your mother  _and_  father. They need to explain themselves for why they did what they did. You have  _every_  right to be angry, but please, if not for yourself, than do it for me. They have seen their mistakes and they want nothing more than to make it up with you, but you have to give them that opportunity. Will you be able to do that?"

Merlin closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He exhaled loudly before saying. "Alright."

"Alright." Arthur repeated softer and held out his hand, which Merlin grabbed. "I'm positive that the press has been informed, so I hope you're ready for the madness once we get out… literally."

Merlin just gave a nervous nod. He only now noticed how many people had been gathered around and how many bodyguards were actually standing around them. He saw exactly which ones were for Arthur and which one were -apparently- for him. It was overwhelming and a little bit frightening.

Arthur gave the signal to Leon that they were ready to go and Leon nodded his head in return.

They made their way out of the terminal and the main hall from the airport quite quickly and without too many hassle, but once they got outside they were swamped by cameras and people. The security held their ground and kept the press relatively at a distance, but they couldn't stop them from shouting questions or comments.

" _Your Highnesses, will there be a wedding?"_

_"Prince Merlin, how are you feeling?"_

_"Your Highnesses, give us a kiss."_

_"Your Highness, what was your first reaction at hearing that you're a Prince?"_

_"Your Highness…"_

_"Your Highness…"_

_"Your Highness…"_

Merlin's head started to spin with the overwhelming questions.

Arthur knew exactly how Merlin felt, he knew how pushing the press could be and hated to be surrounded by him. And  _he_ was used to it, Merlin wasn't and must've felt quite nervous about all of this. So Arthur gripped Merlin tighter to his side and picked up his pace towards the waiting car.

When they were finally in the sanctuary the car gave, Merlin felt he could breathe again. He softly held his sore side and grimaced, but waved Arthur off when he voiced his concerns.

"I'll be fine." Merlin said. But in Arthur's eyes, Merlin didn't seemed so fine. It was like Merlin could see what Arthur thought and added, "Really, I just need a moment. I think I just walked too fast."

From the front seat, Tom had turned and handed Arthur a bottle of water, who in turn handed it to Merlin. "Here, drink this. Can't have you being dehydrated as well."

Merlin didn't respond to Arthur's supposedly joke, just drank greedily. He was parched. He didn't had a drink for close to three hours.

Meanwhile, the car set direction towards Merlin's house and Merlin knew that there wasn't a way back now. He knew that he would face his mother and his -  _father_  in a matter of minutes. And now he wasn't sure if he was ready for it. But Arthur sat next to him and maybe he had somehow felt Merlin's anxiousness, because he extended his hand and smiled at him. "It'll be fine Merlin." He added too.

Merlin tried to take calming breathes, but inside he still felt quite nervous.

**~oOoOo~**

The car came to a stop in front of Merlin's house and Arthur gently shook Merlin's arm as Merlin had fallen asleep in the short drive home. Arthur didn't had it in him to wake to younger man up and so let Merlin sleep for the few minutes the drive took to get to Merlin's house.

Merlin looked groggily around him, blinked several times to clear his vision and then his eyes widened as he understood that right now he would face his parents.

Arthur seemed to sense once again his boyfriends distress and placed a gently hand on Merlin's arm. "Breathe Merlin , everything will be fine. I'll be with you the whole time if that's what you want."

Merlin nodded slowly and looked nervously out of the window towards his house. He started to bite his lip when the doors were opened and he slipped out of the car. Arthur was at his side almost immediately and murmured some soft reassurances into Merlin's ear as they walked up to the house.

The door was opened by Lancelot and Arthur and Merlin followed the agent towards the living room. Merlin slowed his step the closer they came to the door leading to the room, but Arthur nodded his head and told him it would be alright. Merlin gulped one last time before he finally enter the room and was being stared at by not only his mother, but his father as well.

The man stood next to the couch not yet four feet away from him, and looked almost exactly like the time he had met him in the school library. He was dressed in pressed black trousers with matching dress jacket and his hands firmly clasped behind his back. He perhaps looked a bit more dishevelled than the last time he had seen him, but the man was still looking every bit of the royal person he was.

His stare towards the man was broken when Lancelot excuses himself to go back to his post and only then Merlin took a step forward. Swallowing multiple times as his throat seemed to be as dry as sanding paper. His eyes move between Balinor and Hunith before settling on Balinor.

"Hello…  _father_."

He couldn't believe that he just said that out loud, but seeing the reaction he got to it made it perhaps a little bit better.

Balinor's shoulders seemed to lose some of its tension and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He didn't know what Merlin would say to him and he had expected anything, just not  _that_. But hearing it made his decision of telling Merlin about him worthwhile.

But just as he thought that everything would be fine and they could start explaining Merlin about their actions, he saw Merlin swaying back and forth and moments later Merlin's eyes rolled up into his head and slumped forward. Balinor was just in time to catch his son before he would hit the ground and held him into his arms, lost at what to do now.

Hunith's shriek however brought him back and called Lancelot in since he also had some medical training. Balinor heaved his son up into his arms and gently lowered him down onto the couch.

Arthur went to Hunith to calm her down a bit, but he never moved his eyes from Merlin.

The moment Lancelot came into the room, he saw what had happened and crouched down next to the couch. "Your Highness, can you hear me?" Lancelot smacked lightly against Merlin's cheek. He turned to the people in the room. "I need a cold wet towel."

"I-I'll get it." Hunith said, still slightly shocked, and moved to the kitchen to get the required item and returned moments later. She handed the towel over to Lancelot who gently rolled Merlin on his uninjured side and placed the towel into his neck. He went to check Merlin's heart rate and softly counted the beats.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor!" Hunith cried out, and was now held by Balinor. Arthur went to stand a little closer to Merlin.

Before either man could say something, Merlin's eyes started to flutter and then opened them. He looked unfocussed around him first, but then his vision straightened out and he realised what happened and just knowing that he had just fainted embarrassed him a bit. He wanted to forget it as quickly as possible and sit up and just pretend it never happened, but the man crouched down in front of him prevented him from sitting up.

"Just keep lying still for a few moments, Your Highness." Lancelot said with some sternness in his voice. And, reluctantly, Merlin listened.

They did call a doctor just to make sure that there was nothing serious and after a couple of tests, the doctor confirmed that. He assumed that Merlin had been feeling exhausted and stressful from what happened earlier that day, and that in combination with the other injuries he already had triggered his body into collapsing as a sign that he should be taking it more slow. The doctor told them that it wasn't necessary for Merlin to be admitted to a hospital since there wasn't anything life threatening, but he did prescribe some medication that would help Merlin to relax the following days. The doctor emphasized once more how important it was to keep bed rest until at least the end of the week before he left.

**~oOoOo~**

Balinor had said that Merlin should be resting more and get stronger before they would tell their story and only visited a few times the next few days. Merlin didn't asked to see him up in his room, but he wasn't against Balinor's presence in his house either and Balinor was happy with that for now.

Merlin still had some problems in understanding why his mother did what she did and his mother told him that she would tell him everything when he was feeling a bit stronger, that she didn't want to keep any secrets anymore from him. Merlin wasn't really happy with that answer, but it was all he got and to hopefully speed up the process of his healing he hadn't done a thing in the following days, besides lying in his bed. Arthur visited every possible moment he had.

It wasn't until Saturday that Merlin was allowed by his mother to get downstairs -only to be immediately seated down onto the couch, where Arthur was already waiting for him- and that she told him that she and Balinor would tell everything today. The man in question arrived just moments later.

Merlin could manage to give the man a small smile. His mother and father sat down onto the couch opposite of the one Merlin and Arthur sat on and Hunith started telling the story about Balinor's parents,  _his_  grandparents.

Arthur never left Merlin's side and the more the story evolved, the closer he felt Merlin shuffling towards him.

Hunith sighed deeply once she had told the whole story. Same did Balinor as he told Merlin about the moment he found out about him and starting the investigation with the help of a private investigator. They now stared anxiously towards Merlin who had been staring to the ground for some minutes now.

With a deep inhale, Merlin lifted his head. He had gotten  _a lot_  of information in just a short time, but he did now know everything and was aware of all the decisions that were made along that way. Some of those decisions were involuntary while some were deliberately made.

He (still) felt a small grudge against his mother for not telling him sooner, and was still a bit confused to why she hadn't told his father about him the moment she knew that his parents had passed away. But what's done is done and he could throw the biggest tantrum in the world about it, but it wouldn't solve or change a sodding thing.

All he had was the now and he had the opportunity to get to know the father he thought he never had.

He looked straight at Balinor. "I really  _do_  want to get to know you. It's just that… it's hard to explain." Merlin sighed, he couldn't form the right words in telling his father that eighteen years had been a long time and that it would take time for them to get to know each other.

He tried again. "I don't know you and you barely know me, but I want too. I just hope that you don't expect me to call you father immediately or something like that. I still need to wrap my head around all of this, but I certainly want to try to get to know you." He added a small smile again and hand subconsciously reached his hand out towards Arthur's and grabbed it tightly.

Balinor nodded softly. A smile of his own plastered brightly onto his face. "I'd like that as well…" He nervously laughed. "It will be just as strange for you as it will for me. We will take it slow if that's what you want." He saw Merlin nod.

"But first… " Balinor began, making Merlin look up to him. "Would you like to see Mercia?"

Merlin's eyes grew wide. Visiting the country he was the Prince of, suddenly made it all too real, but he didn't had to think long about it. He looked to his side to Arthur and then back to his parents. "When?"

"Tomorrow." Balinor answered.

"Tomorrow!?" Merlin shrieked. "B-but…"

Arthur shuffled closed and placed a hand on Merlin's leg, momentarily making Merlin look at him. "Remember what I said, I'll be with you. And Mercia is beautiful, you will love it."

Merlin stared at Arthur, thinking whether or not it was a good idea to go to Mercia this shortly after learning about his heritage. What if the people in Mercia didn't like him?

But he couldn't say that he wasn't curious to see the country he only read about in books. He closed his eyes and then nodded. "Okay. I'll go."

**~oOoOo~**

The next morning came quick and Arthur had stayed the night in the guest room, while Balinor went back to his London condo as he and Hunith didn't want to force Merlin with too many changes in a small amount of time, even when they were convinced that Merlin already knew by now that they had rekindled their relationship.

Merlin and Arthur were ushered into one car, while Hunith and Balinor took a separate car towards the marina. Both ends of the street were still crowded with people and press alike and Merlin was just glad for the tinted windows that would block out any sight of him. He wasn't comfortable yet knowing that people were now interested in him and probably would be for a long time to come.

The drive to the marina was without any difficulties and soon both cars stopped. Merlin's jaw not yet dropped when he got out of the car and saw the huge boat, no  _yacht,_ standing in the early morning sun. 

"T-that's what we will be traveling with?" Merlin asked, still astounded by the presence of the yacht. Arthur could only chuckle at Merlin's reaction. He linked his arm with Merlin's and ushered him towards the small staircase leading up to the entrance of the boat.

"Yes Merlin, you better get used to it. You now belong to one of the richest on the earth, this will be a common thing for you. Give it six months and you no longer know any differently."

Merlin looked his eyes out as he and Arthur ascended the stair case and walked into the ship. He was greeted by two attendants who inclined their heads at him. "I wish you a pleasant journey, Your Highness." One of them said to Merlin, and he started to slightly blush and mumbled a "Thank you," before he was pulled further into the ship by Arthur.

The yacht was exquisit. Arthur explained that there were four decks, all with their own function. There was even a pool at the top of the deck. The floor they would be staying looked almost like a normal house. Chairs, tables sofas and even a full on kitchen. He couldn't see any further because there were double doors leading to who knew what.

He sat down at one of the chairs more towards the back, with Arthur sitting on the chair next to him, and found out that they were swivel chairs. He looked around him some more and saw his parents sitting more in the front of the boat and were offered, what he thinks, a glass of champagne by one of the attendants.

The other attendant came towards them and asked if they'd like something before they would depart, and Merlin asked for a glass of water and Arthur asked for a coke.

They drank it with no rush and after they placed the glasses on the table, the attendant picked up their empty glasses.

Just moments later the speakers of the radio began to rustle and the captain started to speak moments later. " _Here's captain James speaking. We will be taking off in about five minutes, so I want to kindly request for you to take a seat until we're on open water. The weather here is calm, but there is a bit more wind towards MErcia. Our expected time of travel will be around an hour and three minutes. On behalf of myself and my co-captain Morgan I wish you a pleasant journey."_

Merlin sat back in his chair with a smile. He was a little scared for the unknown, but right now happiness had the bigger hand; He had found out who his father is, he was having the most wonderful guy in the world as his boyfriend and he and his mother weren't fighting anymore.

 _Life really couldn't be any better_. Merlin thought as the boat started to take off to his new destiny.


	16. Hidden Royalty Chapter Sixteen

Merlin had not yet been squishing his face against the window when Arthur pointed out to him that he could see Mercia. At first sight the country looked quite a lot like England. Maybe a bit more rural, in Merlin's opinion. He couldn't enjoy the view for very long because all the standing around made his side hurt like hell and he sat down on the couch with a soft grunt. Luckily Arthur didn't seemed to have noticed that, he had his back turned to pick up his drink. 

The speakers crackled and the captain announced them docking quite soon. Merlin was happy because he didn't think that he could hang on much longer, his elbow ached and he was just generally tired.

And then there was the strong wind that made big waves and iit just wasn't the best thing for Merlin right now as the boat went to one side to the next. Normally he would probably not even feel it, but now he did. He had clenched his eyes shut and nearly bit through his lip at how much pain it caused to his left side as he didn't want to cry in front of his parents nor Arthur and was barely succeeding in that.

Arthur started to notice though and when Merlin opened his eyes Arthur asked softly if he was alright. Of course Merlin didn't want all this concern for him and shook his head, putting up a soft smile. But Arthur wasn't born yesterday and crouched down in front of Merlin. By now, Merlin was taking in short shaky breaths.

Hunith and Balinor had been laughing at something as they stood up from their seats, but when they looked back to see if Merlin and Arthur were ready to go they saw Arthur sitting on his haunches in front of their son.

"I don't know what's wrong, but he looks in pain." Arthur explained once Hunith and Balinor reached them. Hunith ruffled through her purse and pulled out a bottle of painkillers and popped two pills out. In the meantime, Balinor asked one attendant for some water. Hunith handed over the pills to Arthur who in turn pushed them into Merlin's hand.

"It'll help with the pain." Arthur said. Merlin slowly opened his eyes and looked at the two pills before popping them into his mouth and then accepted the glass of water Balinor handed over to him.

They waited anxiously to see if the pills would indeed work within minutes like the doctor had promised and after give or take four minutes they saw Merlin relax just a little bit more.

"I'm sorry." Merlin murmured when he saw all the concerning faces around him. "I'm doing better now." He gently stood up, although still winced by the motion.

Balinor held out his hand if Merlin needed or wanted some more support. "Are you really sure?" He asked. Merlin nodded and gave the man a smile.

Still a bit wary, but trusting on Merlin's word, Balinor nodded and moved to the exit. Two cars were already waiting at the end of the dock to transport them to the Mercian palace.

Merlin came down the stairs and looked around him and inhaled deeply through his nose. The air smelled fresher and cleaner here in Mercia… weird how that was his first thought of being in the country.

He once more shared a car with Arthur and soon were on the way to what Merlin believed was the palace if he heard Arthur and Balinor correctly. He was a bit nervous, but also excited to see the palace and wondered if it would be as big and beautiful as Buckingham Palace.

And then there was this talk from his father at the boat, about how a surprise would be waiting for him in that very same palace and Merlin asked what it was - because he for one hated surprises, but his father had just chuckled and telling him that it wouldn't be a surprise anymore if he told him.

For now, Merlin had momentarily forgotten about the surprise. He was too occupied by looking out of the window and see landscapes and farms pass by, only to be replaced minutes later by metropolitan area, which he could only vaguely compare to London. They drove further away from the busy city centre and drove through a little calmer part of the city where Merlin could already see an immense building on top of a small hill greeting them from the distance. He turned to Arthur with his mouth only just opened. "Is… is that…"

Arthur nodded.

Unlike Buckingham (which had mostly been only shielded off in the front by gates) the Mercian palace had not only gates, but also two small areas of trees at either side of a driveway, which in Merlin's eyes must've been at least half a mile long.

The gates opened and the car began his ascend on the driveway. The further they went up, the more beautiful surroundings began to appear. Behind the field of trees there were lawns with flowerbeds and water ornaments, but the most beautiful thing must've been the palace.

When they finally stopped in front of it, Merlin got out of the car, not even waiting for Tom to open his door. He was looking up to take in some details of the building, from what he could see, it was built out of pearly white stones and had stained glass windows. It was standing tall and mighty and Merlin would never had guessed to ever see such architecture.

And then his gaze was broken by Balinor who came to stand next to his son. Around him, lackeys were hurrying to the cars to get the suitcases out of the cars and into the palace.

"Are you ready for that surprise now?" Balinor asked, grinning just a little bit. Merlin eagerly nodded at which Balinor turned to Lancelot, who in his turn mumbled some words into the headset. Merlin frowned just a little bit, the surprise must be quite a big one if the security of his father had to communicate through earpieces.

He didn't frowned for long though, because just seconds later the door on the front opened and Merlin saw two persons he knew rather well.

"Will! Percy!" He yelled and was about to run up the small staircase when he was held back by his father who had gripped him at the elbow. Balinor looked with a small scowl on his forehead to him.

"Take it easy Merlin. No running yet."

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin couldn't be any more happy. His two best friends were with him again after he hadn't seen them for almost a full week. Although, Will at first was acting strange around him and Merlin guessed it was because of the supposed title he suddenly carried, but after spending time with Percy, Will and Arthur, Will had been falling back into his usual persona and nearly even forgot that Merlin was a Prince now.

If anything, he now even embraced the fact of his friend being one after he had been served on all day.

They whole group now sat in one of the many sitting rooms, or the  _drawing room_  as Balinor had called it, and had just been served a cup of tea when Balinor had come up to Merlin. He stood nervously in front of his son and didn't know what to do with his hands. He first clasped them together in front of them and then let them hang at his side, before finally settling on clasping his hands behind his back.

Merlin had looked up at him expectantly.

Balinor swallowed. "Merlin, can I… can I talk to you for a second?"

Merlin had no idea to why the King was acting this nervous. But to find out, he had to talk to his father, so he nodded his head and stood up and Balinor extended his hand to the door.

Merlin followed Balinor through some corridors before they ultimately ended up in the garden… or at least one of the many gardens. This one in particular was full of flowers and trees that decorated the sides of the gravel paths that seemed to go on for miles and miles. Merlin saw that there was also a huge swan pond with a large fountain in the middle of it and in the distance he could make out a tennis court.

Balinor sat down on one of the many stone benches scattered all throughout the garden and gestured to the spot next to him for Merlin to sit. And so Merlin did. He turned to his father, silently waiting for what his father would tell him. However, there wasn't a story that was following the short silence, it was a question, at least there was one after all the rambling.

Balinor first shifted in his seat, looking every bit of nervous. Merlin just waited but thought that Balinor was acting really weird.

Balinor saw that Merlin gave a small nod as encouragement, and Balinor breathed deeply in.

"Merlin, I want to do something, but I didn't want to do it without your permission. I do hope I get your blessing for it, because I'm not sure what I would do if you didn't, but of course I will understand when you won't. I just hope you will agree to what I am going to ask you, but if not than -" The King's rambling really started to confuse Merlin and he had no idea what point his father was trying to make. He drew his eyebrows together and looked at Balinor with a tilted head. He decided to cut his father off, because neither of them would accomplish anything this way. He stretched his hand out and placed it on top of his father's knee.

He wasn't supposed to even use the word, but it somehow left his mouth. "Dad." Merlin said and was surprised at himself on how easy he had said it. It was weird, that for sure, but still it wasn't feeling totally wrong either. He supposed that he just has to get used to it.

But it certainly helped, because the minute he had said it, his father had stopped his rambling and looked back at Merlin with a nearly shocked expression and when Merlin saw that his father wasn't going to talk, he said, "Just ask me what you wanted to ask."

Balinor sighed and placed his own hand on top of the hand Merlin had placed onto his knee. "You have to understand that I love you mother very much. I've never once stopped loving her all the years she wasn't with me, and I'd like -" He paused, blowing out a puff of air. "I'd like to have your permission to ask her to marry me."

This time round it was Merlin's face that held a shocked expression. He just stared at Balinor. He wasn't sure what question he was about to get, but giving permission for marriage was nowhere on the list of possibilities. "You're asking…  _me?_ " Merlin shook his head in somewhat disbelief. "It really isn't my place to say, is it?" He stated.

"But I  _am_  asking you. I'd like to have your blessing and I don't want to do things behind your back. I want you to have a part in this and if you're against it, then I will not ask her. I want to do everything right from now on and I hope to start a family someday, with Hunith and  _you_."

"There's only one answer I can give." Merlin began and a smile started to spread over his lips. "I haven't seen my mum this happy in a  _really_  long time. I don't know you that well yet, but I really do think you're only wanting the best for my mum. So…  _yes._  If that's what you want, than you have my blessing."

Balinor let out a breathy laugh and reached into his pocket. He got out a small black velvet box and opened it to let Merlin see what was inside. A beautiful white-gold ring with a big oval red ruby, surrounded by two rows of smaller white diamonds. Merlin gaped at the sight of it and Balinor started to get nervous after he hadn't heard a comment on it.

"D-do you think it's alright?"

"Alright?" Merlin shrieked. "It's amazing!" Merlin answered breathlessly as he gaped once more time at the white gold ring. He tilted his head up to Balinor and gave him a pointed look. "She might kill you for it being too expensive, but she will love it."

Satisfied with that answer, Balinor let out the breath he didn't knew he was holding and shut the box and put it back into his pocket, only to replace it by a small silk pouch. "There is something else." Balinor commented when he brought the pouch in front of him. He opened the strings on both sides and tilted the pouch on its side.

Merlin was anxiously waiting to what kind of bomb his father would drop on him now and saw that there was a ring hidden in the pouch. The ring was now lying on Balinor's flat palm.

"This ring has been an heirloom in my family for generations now. It has been passed from father…  _to son_." Balinor said soft as he handed over the ring to Merlin, who accepted it with a shaking hand. He looked utterly gob smacked at the object.

In comparison to the ring that was meant for his mother, the ring that was now placed into his hand was a simple silver seal ring. In the seal was a rearing horse engraved, which he had seen a couple of times throughout the city and in the palace and it probably was the national symbol of Mercia. Merlin traced his fingers over the emblem before looking back up to his father.

"If you'll accept the ring, you will also accept you becoming Crown Prince of Mercia." His father added, making Merlin's eyes widen and Merlin pushed the ring back into his father's hand.

"I can't." He shook his head. "I really can't be a… a Prince. I'm just  _not_  cut out for it and I'm sure I'll screw up immensely and if that's not the only thing, I also -" But Merlin couldn't give any more reasons to why he wasn't capable of being a Prince, because Balinor placed a firm hand on Merlin's shoulder and looked at him with a small scowl.

"Merlin, stop degrading yourself right now. You  _are_  a Prince whether you like it or not. It's in your blood, but I want you to accept it as your duty. Now, I will not force you into making a decision but I really hope you will make one that will give the people of Mercia hope again. They were anxious that there wouldn't be an successor who had Emrys blood."

Merlin rubbed the temple of his head with two fingers. "But the people of Mercia couldn't actually be-"

"They will love you." Balinor interrupted and handed the ring back over to Merlin.

"But… I'm gay!" Merlin burst out, as if that would make him suddenly less appealing as a Prince. But the only reaction he got from his father was a soft chuckle.

"I have noticed that." Balinor schooled his features into a more serious look. "Merlin, really, your sexuality has nothing to do with your abilities to be a Prince. It's whether or not you will accept the role you were born for." Balinor stretched out his arm and placed his hand over Merlin's, squeezing it softly. "I don't need an answer right away. Just… think about it, because I know you still have to adjust to the idea. But I know you will make the right decision." Balinor smiled at his son.

Merlin finally nodded, closing his hand and feeling the ring dug into his skin.

There was a soft clearing of someone's throat and Merlin turned to see Percy's brother Tom standing there who inclined his head to the two people in front of him.

"Ah, Tom. Glad that you could come." Balinor said, gesturing the man forward. "Merlin, Tom will be your personal bodyguard as of this moment."

"Your Highness." Tom said to Merlin, who just thought it was really strange to be called that by other people. It didn't necessarily sent a shiver over his back, but it did gave him a weird feeling in his stomach. He also knew that he could debate all he wanted about not needing a bodyguard, but there was no way that his father would let him go without one. He heaved a sigh and looked up to Tom.

"Well at least you're someone I know a bit already. But  _please_  don't address me with any titles." Merlin pleaded, albeit a bit sternly.

The agent looked at the King, who in turn just shrugged it off. If Merlin didn't want to hear any titles from his personal guard, than that was his choice. Tom looked back at Merlin. "As you wish." He said before he was excused by Balinor.

Merlin rubbed his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, the ring still clutched tightly into his left hand. Balinor placed a hand on his son's back. "I know that there's a lot changing in your life in just a short time, but Merlin I want you to tell me when it will become  _too_  much for you to handle."

Merlin nodded softly and raised his head to look once more at his father. He needed a change of subject, so he asked, "When will you ask mum?"

Merlin immediately saw the worried look on his father's face disappear and being replaced by one of pure happiness and there was maybe even a twinkle in his eye.

"I was thinking of doing it today."

"Feeling nervous about it?"

Balinor nodded fervently. "You have  _no_  idea." He stood up. "We should get back inside. I have prepared a room for you, so you can rest." Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but Balinor cut him off. "Nothing you will say will change my mind. Now come on." He grinned at his son, who just grumbled in response.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin was woken up by Arthur in time for a late lunch and after they were finished, Balinor asked Hunith if she would like to join him for a stroll. Merlin had just been smirking at that and giving a thumbs up when Balinor looked back to his son. Merlin knew what his father was planning to do and only told Arthur, Percy and Will about what was going on, when his parents were out of sight.

Not an hour later, Hunith came bursting into the room holding up her hand. "I-I'm.. I'm engaged!" She finally stammered out and showed Merlin and the rest the ring that Merlin had already seen hours prior. Balinor just calmly followed into the room and gave Hunith her moment.

Hunith had bit her lip as she looked at Merlin. "I… I hope you're not mad that I have accepted it." She softly said and had been expecting that Merlin would be angry for it. That's why she was so surprised that her son stood up from his seat and had hugged her. Not too hard, he didn't want to risk pressure on his wounds, but Hunith felt that the hug was genuine and some stiffness in her body disappeared.

"Thank you." Hunith whispered into Merlin's ear.

**~oOoOo~**

Late that evening, Arthur was lying with Merlin in one bed.

There had been an awkward moment where Merlin had told Arthur about his lack of… experience when Arthur had started to kiss him into his neck and onto his shoulder, but Arthur had kissed him softly and said that it was alright, that it was nothing to be ashamed of. Merlin did feel a lot better that he had got it off his chest, but still asked Arthur to sleep in the same bed as him to which Arthur had agreed. Tonight he just wanted to be near Arthur, because Arthur had been his support in everything that had been going on in the last week.

When Arthur had started to kiss Merlin, he wasn't even planning on doing some… hard physical activity, since Merlin was in not state to participate,. But because he now knew that Merlin was a virgin, he was planning on something special. But that was a thought for later, right now he was comfortable to have Merlin in his arms and he pressed a kiss to Merlin's bare shoulder.

"It suits you well." Arthur commented as he was looking at the silver band that was now slipped on Merlin's index finger

"Hmm. I guess so." Came Merlin's meager response.

"You don't regret your decision right?"

"No!" Merlin answered quickly, turning his head into an awkward angle to look at Arthur. He turned back with a sigh. "No I'm not. It just feels  _weird_ , you know."

"I actually do know." Arthur chuckled, showing Merlin his own ring that he got when he was named Crown Prince. Merlin rolled his eyes and tried to slap Arthur's thigh as best as he could from the position he was lying in.

"You will do fine Merlin. You have me, you have your friends and most of all, you have your parents. That's all you need." Arthur bent forward to peck a kiss on Merlin's hair. He heard Merlin yawn and he knew that Merlin must've been exhausted from today's events. Arthur softly caressed Merlin's arm and he didn't had to wait long before he heard Merlin's breathing evening out.

"Sleep tight." He murmured onto his boyfriend's shoulder and kissed it one last time before he shifted himself into a more comfortable position. His arm stayed possessively and protectively slung around Merlin's waist for the entire night.

The next morning at breakfast, Merlin told Balinor about his decision and he thought the man's face would split in half if he wouldn't stop smiling that broadly. He stepped towards Balinor when the man had asked him what made him accept. "I thought about what you said yesterday and you're right. I can't run away from who I should be and I'm not planning too. I know it'll be hard in the beginning, but I'm giving it a chance."

Balinor clapped both hands together. "Excellent! Now we can inform the people of Mercia. I'll make sure that it's announced by us in an exclusive television segment this afternoon."

Merlin's eyes widen. God, he hadn't thought about  _that_  and to top it off, he wasn't exactly the most well-spoken person in public events. Balinor saw his son's sudden change of emotion and gripped him at the shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I'll do the talking, but you'll need to be there so the people know who you are… if they weren't already aware." He added under his breathe. Merlin heard.

"Really Merlin. All you've got to do is smile. Now we must get ready, I will sent up a suit up to your room."

Merlin's face immediately fell, Will laughed loudly and Balinor frowned at  _why_ both teenagers reacted that way. Had he said something wrong? He felt Hunith leaning towards him and whispered in his ear, "He has never liked suits, he says he feels too confined in them."

Balinor chuckled lightly at that, getting a scowl in return from his son. "I'm sorry Merlin, but that's just the way it is. It's what the people expect of royalty. You can wear normal clothes anytime you want, but when you'll have to do a public appearance, people expect you to be formal. It's been like that for centuries. Just ask Arthur."

Merlin stared with a hopeful look at his boyfriend. He hoped that Arthur would prove the opposite, but instead he saw Arthur nodding his head in an almost guilty manner.   
  
Although Arthur couldn't help stop a cheeky grin to form in the corners of his mouth. He couldn't wait to see Merlin is a perfect fitting suit.

Merlin groaned. His head fell into his hands as he started to murmur, "I thought it was supposed to be fun to be a royal."

**~oOoOo~**

Somewhere in Mercia, two people watched with a scowl on their face at the flat screen TV. Every possible channel showed Balinor's live announcement that Merlin would officially become Crown Prince of Mercia on his nineteenth birthday celebration.

Morgana walked up to the TV and turned it off with a growl. She turned back around to face her little brother.

"That crown was ours! But the minute we found out that _uncle_ Balinor had a son, we knew that that  _Merlin_  boy would get the crown before us. I can't let that happen, it's ours!"

"Calm down Morgana. We'll get it eventually, don't worry."

"Mordred!" Morgana shrieked. "How can you be so calm! We tried to assassinate him by hiring that hitman, well that plan failed miserably. He only got injured, god knows how much sympathy he has already gotten from the Mercian people. No, we need to think of something… and fast." Morgana sat down at the table, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping on the glass table top one by one.

A few moments later, she looked up to her little brother. A plan was starting to form into her head.

"Oh I know that look." Mordred commented. "What do you have in mind sister?"

She smirked at him. "I think it's time to bring out that  _lovely_  charm of yours, brother."

Mordred shook his head and waved his arms in front of him. "Na-ah. No Morgana, we're related!"

Morgana tutted. "Mordred, Mordred, Mordred. How naïve you are. You're not getting involved with him, you'll just have to get close to him, be a friend to him. Besides, he's our  _second_ cousin. And I hardly call that  _thing_  family."

"I don't know Morgana. Besides, it looks like he's pretty serious with Pendragon. What if he ruins everything." Mordred answered, rubbing his forehead.

Morgana stood up to walk up to her brother and pointed her finger at him. "Mordred we have done  _everything_  to make sure that we would be the first in line for that throne, you will  _not_  back out now." She waited a few seconds before asking, "Now are you in, or not?"

Mordred stared at the ground for a short moment before lifting his head. He looked his sister straight in the eye with determination as he answered, "I'm in."

**THE END.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luKYo8s3LwI#t=25) is sort of how I imagined Hunith's engagement ring to look like.


End file.
